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Mi  Mi  s^ilQEi 


MEXICAN    COrrEK   TOOLS: 

THE  USE  OF  COPPER  BY  THE  .MEXICANS 
BEFORE   THE   CONQUEST; 


THE  KATÜNES  OF  MAYA  HISTORY^ 

A     ClIAriKK    IN     IIIK 

EARLY  HISTORY  OF  CENTRAL  AMERICA, 
With   Spkcial  Referenck  to  tiik   Pio  Pekkz  ^Lvnusckii'T. 

BY 

PHILIPP  J.    J.  VALENTINI,  Ph.  D. 


[TliAN.SLATED    l-'ROM    TIIK    GeHMAX,    UY    STEniKN    vSaUSISUH Y,    .Ili.J 


■WORCESTER,     MASS.: 

PRESS     OF     CHARLES     HAMILTON. 

18  80. 


'''^c.    .     crzp^u^^^v    ^Ai-i^^^t'V^C^cJ^  J 


WITH    Till:    lUCSl'KVT.s    u  f 


cJ-^^^^^;^^^'^^^^  " 


y7i-yt:>c^yüv  •  Jht^AJff^^^.<^J^.c,^^f^^  %..S)Sf., 


fPKOCEEDIKGS     OK     AMKKICAN     AXTUjL'Altl  AN     .SOCIETY,     AlMill,     i'-K     AND 
OCTOl.EK    21,    1S7!».] 


(ON TENTS 


Page. 

Mexican  Coppku  Tools 5 

Note  by  Committee  oe  Puumcatiox 45 

The  Katunes  of  Maya  Histouy 40 

Inlro'liictory    liemarks 49 

The  Maya  Mamtscript  and  Translation 52 

History  of  the  Mannscript 55 

Elements  of  Maya  Chronolof/y 60 

Table  of  the  20  Days  of  the  3Iaya  Month G2 

Table  of  the  18  Months  of  the  Maya  Year 03 

Table  of  Maya  Months  and  Days 04 

Translation  of  the  Mamiscript  by  Senor  Perez 75 

Discussion  of  the  Manuscript 77 

Conclndinfj  Eemarks 02 

Sections  of  the  Perez  Manuscript  expressed  in  years 00 

Table  of  Maya  Ahattes  expressed  in  years 100 

Jies7ilts  of  the  Chronological   Investigation 102 

3:lliistrattons. 

Page. 
Copper  Axes  ix  the   Ahms   of   Tepoztla,  Tepoztitla   and 

Tepozcolula 12 

Copper  Axes,  the  Tribute  of  Chilapa      13 

Copper  Axes  and  Bells,  the  Tribute  of  Chala 14 

Mexican  Goldsmith  Smelting  Gold IS 

Yucatan  Axe,  from  Landa 20 

Yucatan    Copper    Axes 30 

Indiax  Battle  Axe,  from  Oviedo  , 31 

Copper  Chisel  found  in  Oaxaca 33 

Mexican   Carpenter's   Hatchet 35 

Copper  Axe  of  Tepozcolula 30 

Copper  Axe  of  Tlaximaloyan 30 

Copper  Tool,  fo-und  by  Dupaix  in  Oaxaca 37 

Maya  Ahau  Katun  Wheel 71 

Map  showing  the  movement  of  the   Mayas,  as  stated  in 

the  Manuscript 78 


MEXICAN  COPPER  TOOLS. 


Bv  PiiiMPi'  J.  J.  Valentini,  Ph.D. 

[From   the    German,   hy   Stephen   Salisbury,   Jr.] 
[From  Proceediugs  of  American  Autiquariau  Society,  April  30,  1879.] 

The  subject  of  prehistoric  chopper  mining,  together  with 
the  trade  in  the  metal  and  tlic  process  of  its  manufacture 
into  implements  and  tools  bv  the  red  men  of  Nortli  America, 
has  engaged  tlie  attention  of  numerous  investigators. 

It  was  while  listening  to  an  interesting  paper  on  prehis- 
toric copper  mining  at  Lake  Superior,  read  by  Prof.  Thomas 
Egleston  before  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  of  New  York, 
March  9,  1879,  that  the  writer  was  reminded  of  a  nmiibcr 
of  notes  whicli  he  had  made,  some  time  previous,  on  the 
same  subject.  These  notes,  however,  covered  a  department 
of  research  not  included  in  the  lecture  of  that  evening. 
They  were  collected  in  order  to  secure  all  the  material 
extant  in  relation  to  tlie  copper  products  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America.  Nevertheless,  this  ti'eatment  of  a  subject 
so  germain  to  ours,  could  not  help  imj)arting  an  impulse  to  a 
rapid  comparison  of  the  results  of  our  own  studies  with 
those  of  others.  It  brought  to  light  striking  agreements, 
as  well  as  disagreements,  which  existed  in  connection 
with  the  copper  industries  of  the  two  widely  separated 
races.  On  tlie  one  hand  it  appeared  that  both  of  these 
ancient  peo[)]c  were  unaccpiainted  with  iron  ;  both  were 
trained  to  the  practise  of  "war,  and,  strange  to  say,  both  liad 
invariably  abstained  from  sliaping  copper  into  any  imple- 
ment of  wai-,  tlie  metal  being  appropriated  solely  to  the  uses 
of  peace. 

But,  on  the  otlicr  liand,  wliilst  the  northern  red  man  at- 
tained to  his  highest  achievement  in  the  production  of  the 
2 


6 

axe,  the  native  of  Central  America  conld  boast  of  import- 
ant additions  to  his  stock  of  tools.  He  possessed  copper 
implements  for  tilling  the  fields,  and  knew  the  nses  of  the 
chisel.  Besides,  when  he  wished  to  impart  to  the  copper  a 
definite  form,  he  showed  a  superior  ingenuity.  The  north- 
ern Indian  simply  took  a  stone,  and  by  physical  force  ham- 
mered the  metal  into  the  required  shape.  But  the  skilled 
workman  of  Tecoatega  and  Tezcuco,  subjecting  the  native 
copper  to  the  heat  of  the  furnace,  cast  the  woodcutter's  axe 
in  a  mould,  as  well  as  the  bracelets  and  the  fragile  ear- 
rings that  adorned  the  princesses  of  Motezuma. 

Therefore,  in  vievt^  of  the  recently  increasing  interest 
shown  in  archaeological  circles,  respecting  everj^thing  relat- 
ing to  Mexico,  the  writer  deemed  it  wortli  while  to  revise 
the  notes  referred  to. 

As  to  tlie  fact  that  the  early  Mexicans  used  instruments 
of  copper,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  The  brevity  of  the  state- 
ments respecting  these  instruments  is  nevertheless  very  per- 
plexing. The  accounts  of  the  Spanish  chroniclers,  indeed, 
aflbrd  a  certain  degree  of  satisfaction,  but  they  leave  us 
with  a  desire  for  fuller  information.  We  should  have  felt 
more  grateful  to  these  authorities  if,  out  of  the  thousand 
and  more  chajUers  devoted  to  the  glorious  deeds  of  the 
"  Castellanos  and  Predicadores,"  tlioy  had  written  one  in 
which  they  had  introduced  us  to  the  Mexican  work-shop, 
exhibiting  tlie  weaver,  the  paper-maker,  the  carpenter,  the 
goldsmith,  and  the  sculptor,  and  initiating  us  into  the 
devices  and  methods  respectively  employed ;  describing  the 
form  and  shape  of  the  tools  the)'  used,  and  givin«;  an  ac- 
count of  all  those  little  details  which  are  indispensal)le  for 
achieving  any  technical  or  artistical  results. 

Yet,  as  it  exists,  the  desired  information  is  incomplete, 
and,  f<»r  the  present  at  least,  we  can  only  deplore  its  brevity. 
In  looking  for  aid  from  other  quarters  we  feel  still  more 
pcr[>h'XO(l,  No  s])ecimen  of  any  copper  or  bronze  tool,  ap- 
parently,  has   l)een   preserved,   and  we  are  thus   prevented 


from  determining  whetlier  the  axes  or  chisels  mentioned  by 
the  Spanish  authors  were  of  the  same  shape  as  ours,  or 
whether  the  natives  had  contrived  to  give  them  a  peculiar 
shape  of  their  own.  Finally,  no  definite  hint  is  given 
whether  the  kind  of  copper  metal,  which  they  called  "  brass 
or  bronze,"  was  copper  with  the  natural  admixtures  of  gold, 
silver,  tin,  or  other  tempering  elements,  or  whether  the 
Mexicans  had  themselves  discovered  the  devices  of  harden- 
ing, and  combined  the  elements  in  due  conventional  propor- 
tions. 

All  these  questions  are  of  the  highest  interest,  and  claim 
an  answer.  Our  most  renowned  authorities  for  Mexican 
archaeology  and  history,  Humboldt,  Prescott  and  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourg,*  pass  over  this  subject  without  giving  any 
dcsircnJ  satisfaction.  They  do  not  go  mucli  farther  than  to 
repeat  the  statements  furnished  by  the  writers  in  the 
same  language  as  they  received  them. 

These  early  statements  will  form  the  principal  portion  of 
the  material  out  of  which  we  weave  the  text  of  our  discus- 
sion. In  order  that  the  reader  may  be  better  prepared  to 
enter  into  our  reasoning  and  judge  of  the  correctness  of  our 
conclusions,  we  shall,  in  translation,  place  the  statements 
of  these  authors  below  the  text,  in  the  form  of  foot-notes ; 
though,  in  cases  where  it  is  believed  that  the  reader  may 
desire  to  see  the  originals,  the  Spanish  text  is  given. 
Considerable  help  has  been  derived  from  a  source  hitherto 
very  little  consulted,  that  of  the  native  ])aintings,  which 
rej)resent  copper  implements.  As  will  be  seen,  they  make 
up,  to  a  certain  extent,  fur  the  deticiency  of  the  latter  in 
collections.  The  cuts  we  give  are  of  tlie  same  size  as  those 
we  lind  copied  in  the  Kingsborough  Collection. 


*  A.  V.  Humboldt,  Essai  s.  1.  Nouv.  E<pagne,  Tome  III.,  Livre  4, 
Chap.  Ü.  W.  IL  Prescott,  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  Book  I., 
Cliap.  5.  Brasseur  de  Buurboury,  Hist.  d.  Nat.  Civ.  du  Mexitjue,  Livre 
III.,  Chap.  7,  pag.  678. 


8 

"We  shall  speak  first  of  those  localities  whence  the  natives 
procured  their  .copper  and  their  tin ;  secondly,  of  the  man- 
ner in  wliicli  they  used  to  melt  metals ;  thirdly,  consider 
whetlier  the  metal  was  moulded  or  hammered;  and  fourthly, 
discnss  the  various  forms  into  which  their  tools  apj^ear  to 
have  been  shaped. 

That  the  natives  of  the  New  World  collected  and  worked 
other  metals  besides  gold  and  silver,  seems  to  have  become 
known  to  the  Spaniards  only  after  their  entrance  into  the 
city  of  Mexico,  A.  D.  1521.  During  the  first  epocli,  in 
whicli  the  West  India  Islands  and  tlie  Atlantic  coasts  of 
Soutii  and  Central  America  were  explored  and  conquered, 
no  specimen  of  utensils,  tools  or  weapons,  made  of  brass  or 
copper,  was  discovered  to  be  in  the  possession  of  the  inliab- 
itants.  So  also  in  Yucatan,  Tlascalla,  and  on  the  high 
plateau  of  Anahuac,  wliere  mechanics  and  industry  were 
found  to  have  a  home,  and  where  the  native  warrior 
exhibited  his  person  in  the  most  gorgeous  military  attire, 
their  swords,  javelins,  lances  and  arrows,  showed  tliat  con- 
cerning the  manufacture  of  arms  they  had,  so  to  speak,  not 
yet  emerged  from  the  Stone-Age.  And  finally,  M'hen  brass, 
copper,  tin,  and  even  lead,  were  seen  exposed  for  sale  in  the 
stalls  of  the  market-place  of  Mexico,  it  was  noticed  to  the 
great  astonishment  of  tlie  conquerors,  that  these  metals 
had  exclusively  served  the  natives  for  the  manufacture  of 
mere  instruments  of  peace. 

The  Spanisli  leader  communi(rates  these  facets  to  liis 
emperor  in  these  few  words:* — "Besides  all  kind  of  mer- 
chandise, I  have  seen  for  sale  trinkets  made  of  gold  and 
silver,  of  lead,  bronze,  copper  and  tin."  Almost  the  same 
expressions   are    used    in   the   memoirs    of    liis    companion. 


*  Curia  (2da)  de  rehicion,  por  Fernando  Cortes,  de  la  villa  Segura  de 
Froiitera  dcsUi  Nueva  Espana,  ä  30  de  Octiibre  de  1520  ailos  "  donde 
hay  todos  los  generös  de  mcrcaderias,  que  eu  todas  las  tierras  se  haliaii, 
aside  inaiiteiiiiniontos  coino  de  viluallas,  joj'as  dc  oro  y  de  plata,  de 
ploino,  de  lalon,  de  cobre,  de  eslano  de  piedras,  de  liuesos,  etc." 


9 

BoniJil  Diiiz  do  Custillo  :* — "  And  1  saw  (wes  of  Imnr^e,  and 
C()ppei\  and  tuiP  Under  the  inßnenees  of  such  a  revelation 
the  licarts  of  the  distressed  Spaniards  must  have  been  ehit(!d 
with  joy  and  courage,  when  they  saw  not  only  a  [)ros[)eet  of 
replacing  the  arms  which  their  small  band  had  lost,  but  also 
the  source  from  which  to  ecpiip  the  faithful  Indian  allies  of 
Tlascnda  in  an  efficient  manner.  Immediately  after  having 
taken    lirm    footliold     on    the    conquered    ground,     Cortes 


*  Bemal  Diaz  de  Castillo,  Historia  verdadera  de  la  conquista  de  la  Nuevo 
Espana,  Madrid,  1G32,  I.  Vol.,  Cap.  92,  "y  vendian  hachas  de  laton,  y 
cobre  y  estauo."  The  meaning  of  this  passage  is,  beyond  all  misinter- 
pretation :  He  saw  for  sale  bronze  axes,  and  besides  pieces  of  copper  and 
others  of  tin.  The  order,  iu  which  these  three  words  stand,  conveys  a 
suggestion  that  we  should  not  wholly  ignore.  The  word  laton  (bronze) 
is  lollowed  by  cubre  (co|)per)  and  estano  (tin),  the  two  well  known  com- 
ponents of  bronze.  Might  not  the  relative  position  of  the  three  words 
teach  that,  to  them,  bronze  was  the  most  important  metal  and  was  there- 
fore assigned  the  lirst  place,  mentioning  the  copper  and  tin  afterwards  as 
the  elements  from  whicli  the  bronze  was  made?  We  might  also  go 
farther  and  inquire  how  the  flrst  metal  came  to  be  recognized  by  them  as 
bronze.  In  framing  a  reply,  let  us  consider  three  possible  ex|)lanations.  Let 
us  suppose,  first,  that  they  knew  the  bronze  well  enough  to  recognize  it 
at  once.  They,  further,  may  have  entertained  doubts  as  to  its  identity, 
but  finally  have  been  led  to  this  conclusion  b}'  seeing  the  copper  and  tin 
exhibited  in  the  stalls,  together  with  the  bronze.  Thirdly,  we  may  also 
suppose,  that  they  would  desire  to  obtain  more  positive  confirmation 
and  therefore  have  inquired  and  learned  from  their  native  guides  that 
this  bronze  was  actually  a  composition  of  the  two  other  metals  before 
them.  Therefore,  considering  all  these  cases,  when  engaged  iu  compos- 
ing their  narration,  the  Spaniards  would  have  remembered  the 
circumstances  connected  with  the  memorable  visit  to  the  market,  and 
have  enumerated  the  metals  in  the  order  iu  wliich  they  actually  are 
found;  first,  the  bronze,  the  main  object  of  their  curiosity,  and  then  the 
copper  and  tin  as  the  key  to  the  puzzle. 

We,  however,  make  no  defence  of  this  forced  and  artificial  interpreta- 
tion of  the  language,  and  still  less  would  in  this  manner  build  a  premise 
from  which  to  deduce  the  final  conclusion,  that  the  natives  make  bronze 
from  copper  and  tin.  On  tlie  contrary,  the  facts  elicited  from  our  ma- 
terial, as  will  be  seen  later,  conduct  us  to  very  ditterent  conclusions. 
Still,  having  been  struck  by  the  occurrence  of  the  three  words  and  their 
relative  positions,  we  could  not  di.smiss  them  altogether,  especially  as 


10 

ordered  tlie  goldsmiths  of  Tezciico  to  cast  eiglit  tlionsand 
arrow-heads  of  copper,  and  these  weapons  were  made  ready 
for  delivery  within  a  single  week  *  At  the  same  time,  too, 
the  hope  to  have  a  supply  of  cannon  made  was  presented  to 
the  conqueror's  mind.  The  onh"  question  was  from  whence 
to  procure  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  material  necessary  to 
carry  out  this  design. 

Copper  is  found  to-day  in  nearly  all  the  states  of  the 
Mexican  Republic.  We  abstain,  therefore,  from  quoting  the 
hjralities.  But  as  tar  as  our  information  goes,  no  writer  or 
historian  has  stated  where  Cortes  and  before  him  the  natives' 
themselves  found  it.  To  investigate  this  matter  might  be 
of  direct  utiHty,  at  least.  We  intend  to  use  a  source 
hitlierto  little  explored,  but  which  for  the  history  of 
Mexico  is  of  greatest  importance,  the  picture  tables,  called 
the  Codices  Mexicana.  Tiiese  collections  contain  represen- 
tations of  their  historical,  religious,  social  and  commercial 
life.  The  writer  of  this  article  has  made  himself  familiar 
with  these  sources,  expecting  to  find  in  them  disclosures 
about  the  location  of  the  ancient  copper  mines,  as  soon  as 
he  could  discover  what  cojjper  was  called  in  the  language 
of  the  natives.     The  answer  comes  in  this  connection. 

The  Mexicans  had   the  habit  of  givino;  a  name  to  their 


Cortes  and  Benial  Diaz  were  eye-witnesses  and  were,  therefoi'e,  of  higli- 
est  autliority.  Besides,  it  is  by  uo  means  impossible  that  in  tlie  future, 
instruments  of  bronze  may  actually  be  discovered  and  found  to  be  com- 
posed of  tin  and  copper.  In  such  an  event  our  judgment  would  favor 
the  opinion  that  Cortes  and  his  followers  were  keener  observers  and  in- 
vestigators than  those  who  during  three  and  one-half  centuries  have  at- 
tempted to  ventilate  the  question.  * 

For  the  same  position  of  words,  compare  also  Gomara  (Francisco  Lopez 
de),  Ilistoria  General  de  las  Indias,  Ed.  Barcia,  Cap.  79:  "There  is  also 
much  feathervvork  in  the  market,  and  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  bronze 
(laton)  and  tin,  though  these  three  latter  metals  are  scarce."  Gomara, 
it  will  be  noticed,  changed  somewhat  the  position  of  the  words,  as  com- 
pilers often  do.  He  was  a  secretary  to  Cortes,  and  his  work  appeared 
in  Zaragoza,  1552-1553,  five  years  after  Cortes'  death. 

*  Bemal  Diaz,  Chap.  147. 


11 

towns  and  districts  fi'oni  the  objects  wliicli  were  found  in 
abundance  in  their  neighborhood.  Therefore,  copper  regions 
ought  to  bear  a  name  wbich  related  to  this  mineral. 

In  Lord  Kingsborough's  Collection,  Vol.  V.,  pages  115— 
124,  there  are  two  printed  alphabetical  indices  of  the  names 
of  all  the  towns,  whose  hieroglyphic  symbol,  or,  as  we  term 
it,  whose  coat  of  arms,  is  represented  in  the  Codex 
Mendoza,  to  be  found  in  Vol.  I.  of  the  same  collection, 
pages  1-72.  This  Codex  is  arranged  in  three  sections.  The 
first  shows  the  pictui'c-annals  of  the  ancient  Aztec-Kings, 
and  the  cities  which  they  conquered  (pages  1-17).  The 
second  reproduces  again  the  coats  of  arms  of  these  cities, 
but  gives  in  addition  the  pictures  of  all  the  objects  of 
tribute  which  these  cities  had  to  pay.  The  third  section 
exhibits  an  illustration  of  how  Mexican  cbildren  were 
trained  from  infancy  up  to  their  IStli  year.  Sections  first 
and  second  will  claim  our  interest,  exclusively. 

Copper,  we  learn  from  the  Dictionary  of  Molina* 
was  named  in  the  language  of  the  Nahoa  speaking  natives, 
tepv2(2ue.'\  Upon  searching  in  the  above  quoted  Codices, 
we  find  three  names  of  towns  which  are  compounds  of  this 


*  Vücabulario  en  la  lengua  Castellana  y  Mexicana,  por  el  Rev"  Padre 
Fray  Alonso  de  Molina:  Guardiau  del  Convento  de  San  Antonio  de 
Tezcuco,  de  la  Orden  de  los  Frayles  Menores.  Mexico,  1572.  This 
edition  was  preceded  by  a  smaller  one,  1552,  which  was  the  Jourteenth 
book  in  the  series  of  those  which  were  printed  in  Mexico. 

t  Let  us  quote  from  Bernal  Diaz,  Chapter  157,  without  any  comment, 
the  following  anecdote  concerning  the  word  tepuzque.  "  In  the  smelt- 
ing of  gold  there  was  also  allowed  an  eighth  of  alloy  to  every  ounce  to 
assist  the  men  in  the  purchase  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  But  we  (the 
soldiers)  derived  no  advantage  from  this,  but  on  the  contrary,  it  proved 
very  prejudicial  to  us,  for  the  merchants  added  the  same  percentage  to 
the  price  of  their  goods  and  sold  for  five  pesos  what  was  only  worth 
three,  and  so  this  alloy  became,  as  the  Indians  term  it,  tepuzque  or  cop- 
per. This  expression  became  so  common  among  us,  that  we  added  it  to 
the  names  of  the  distinguished  cavaliers  to  express  the  worth  of  their 
character,  as,  for  instance,  we  used  to  say,  Senor  Don  Juan  of  so  much 
tepuzque." 


12 


word  tejmzque.  Their  names  appear  in  the  following  form: 
Tepozthi,  Vol.  L,  page  8,  fig.  2,  and  the  same  name  on 
page  26,  fig.  13.  Tepoztitla,  page  42,  fig.  10,  and  Tepoz- 
colula,  page  43,  fig.  3. 

The  cuts  1,  2,  3  and  4,  are  faithful  reproductions  of  the 
coats  of  arms  belonging  to  these  towns. 


Cut  2. 


Cut  4. 


Cut  1. 


Cut  3. 


Tepoztla. 


Tepoztla. 


Tepoztitla. 


Tepozcolula. 


There  cannot  be  any  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  the 
objects  represented  by  these  pictures.  They  mean  axes. 
Their  handles  appear  in  a  curved  form,  the  blades  at  their 
cutting  edges  are  somewhat  rounded,  and  the  tenons  of 
the  blades  are  inserted  below  the  top  of  the  handles.  Both 
handles  and  blades  are  painted  in  a  reddish  brown  color, 
the  wood  as  well  as  the  copper. 

The  dift'erencos  between  the  pictured  representations  are  the 
following  :  Cuts  1,  2,  and  4,  show  the  axes  growing  out  from 
the  top  of  a  mountain,  whilst  the  axe  of  cut  3  ap])ears  by 
itself.  Further,  the  axes  of  cuts  1  and  2,  those  of  Tepoztla^ 
show  something  applied  to  the  handle,  which  in  cut  1  we 
recognize  to  be  a  single  bow-knot,  and  in  cut  2  the  same 
girdle  with  a  bow-knot,  yet  wound  about  a  dress  of  white 
color,  emi)roidered  with  red  spots.  A  notable  difit'erence, 
however,  will  still  be  noticed  between  the  form  of  the  axes 
in  cuts  1,  2,  3,  and  that  in  cut  4,  or  J'ejyozcolula.  We  shall 
speak  of  this  latter,  on  a  later  [)age,  as  an  instrument  very 
closely  related  to  the  other  axes. 


13 


By  means  of  these  pictures  we  arrive  at  the  knowledge  of 
tlie  foHovviii«^  facts  :  Copper  was  undouhtedly  found  in  the 
nei<>"ld)or]iood  of  the  three  named  cities.  Moreover,  coj^per 
in  these  cities  was  wrought  into  axe-bhides.  Finally,  tlie  axe 
will  turn  out  to  be  the  symbol   used  for  copper,  in  general. 

Let  us  accept  these  facts  and  see  whetlier  this  picture  for 
tlie  symbol  for  copper  does  not  return  on  other  pages  of 
the  same  Codex,  and  thereby  gain  more  information  on  the 
subject.  We  notice  the  picture  of  the  axe-blade  reappear- 
ing on  the  pages  39  and  42.  Both  happen  to  bear  the 
same  numl^er,  that  of  figure  20,  and  both  belong  to  the 
same  section  of  the  Codex  which  contains  the  pictures  of 
the  tributes  paid  by  the  conquered  towns.  Cut  5  is  a 
reproduction  of  fig.  20,  page  39,  Codex  Mendoza.  It  shows 
the  metal  axe  without  a  handle  hanging  on  a  thread  from 

a  line  upon 
Cut  5.  which  we 


flq^.lO 


H  ^    \^ 


Towu  of  Chilapu. 


nifies  the  number  twenty.^ 


see  five  flags 

are  painted. 

T\  [Tl Moreover, 

L'     —I  at    the  left 


side  is  a  lit- 
tle picture. 
A  flag  in 
Mexican 
s  3'  m  b  o  1 
writiny;  sig- 


*  Those  who  ■«'ish  to  be  more  extensively  instructed  in  the  Mexican 
system  of  numeration  can  read:  Leon  y  ^'«»1«,  Descripcion  Hist,  y 
Cronol.  de  las  dos  Piedras,  Parte  II.,  Appendice  II.,  page  128,  Edit.  C.  M. 
de  Bnstamante,  Mexico,  1832.  Clavirjero,  Storia  antica  di  Messico,  Eng- 
lish translation  by  Ch.  Cullen,  London,  1807,  Vol.  I.,  Book  4,  pag.  410; 
and  an  article  recently  published  by  Orozco  y  Berra,  in  Tom.  I.,  Entrega 
fima  of  the  Anales  del  Museo  Nacional  de  Mexico,  1879,  page  258,  wliich 
article  is  the  most  complete  hitherto  written  on  the  subject,  and  is  illus- 
trated by  53  cuts. 
3 


14 


We  may  therefore  conclude  that  by  this  conihiiiation  one 
hundred  copper  axes  are  indicated.  Tlio  question  now 
arises,  what  city  may  have  paid  this  tril)nte  of  copper  axes  ? 
The  ])ainter  has  not  only  omitted  to  connect  directly  these 
flags  and  axe  with  one  of  the  various  coats  of  arms  that  are 
grouped  in  their  neighl)orhood,  hut  even,  if  he  had  done  so, 
the  student,  still  unacquainted  with  the  art  of  explaining  pic- 
tures, would  be  unable  to  make  out  tlie  name  of  the  city, 
embodied  in  the  pictnre  of  the  coat  of  arms.  We  will  over- 
come this  difficulty  by  consulting  the  interpretation  of  tlie 
Codex  Mendoza,  which  is  printed  on  the  pages  39-89  of  Vol. 
v.,  Kingsb.  Collection.  There,  on  page  73,  the  suggestion 
is  given  that  the  tril)ute  objects  refer  to  the  town  of 
Chilapa,  whose  coat  of  arms  (tig.  2),  as  we  shall  notice  on 
the  cut,  consists  of  a  tub  tilled  witli  water,  and  on  whose 
surface  the  chiUi-hmt  appears,  better  known  as  the  Spanish 
red  pepper  chilli,  red  peper,  all,  water,  pa,  in  or  above. 
For  this  reason  we  learn  that  the  town  of  Chilapa  was 
tributary  in  100  axes. 

In  like  manner  we  may  proceed  with  the  definition  of  the 
picture  found  on  page  42,  tig.  20.     The  copy  given  in  cut  6, 

sliows  80  blades  of  cop- 
per axes  in  tig.  20,  and 
besides  40  little  copper 
bells  in  fig.  19,  and  tlie 
interpretation,  Vol.  V., 
l)age  76,  informs  us  that 
it  was  the  town  of  Chala, 
tig.  26,  which  had  to  pay 
fi'^  -^^^this  kind  of  tribute. 

Therefore,  tlie  towns 
of  Tepoztla,  Tepotztitla, 
Tepozcolula,  and,  besides, 
those  of  Chilai)a  and  Xala, 
must  be  considered  to 
have  been  connected,  in 


fiq.%6. 


Town  of  Cliala. 


f^-<^  19 


15 

one  way  or   the  otliei",  with  copper  mining,   copper  inann- 
facture,  {viid  the  tril>ute  of  the  suiiie.* 

A  few  words  on  the  procuring  of  the  metal  from  Localities 
where  it  was^jliscovered  by  the  natives,  ma}^  find  a  suital)le 
])hice  here.  '  Mining,  as  we  understand  it  to-day,  or  as  the 
Spaniards  understood  it  already  at  the  time  of  tlie  conquest, 
was  not  practised  by  the  natives.  Gold  and  silver  were  not 
broken  from  the  entrails  of  the  rocks.  They  were  collected 
IVom  \\\e  j)laceres  by  a  process  of  mere  washing.  No  notice 
at  all  has  come  down  to  us  how  copper  was  gathered. 
We  can,  however,  easily  imagine,  tliat  whenever  by  a 
c'hance  outcropping  a  copper  vein  or  stratum  l)ecame 
visil)le,  they  probabl}'  broke  off'  the  ore  or  mineral  to  a 
de])th  easy  to  be  reached,  and  only  selected  the  most  solid 
pieces.  It  is  evident  that  the  results  of  such  superficial 
mining  must  have  been  very  trifling,  certainly  not  greater 
than  would  barely  suffice  for  the  fabrication  of  the  most 
necessary  tools.  Herein  we  will  find  an  explanation,  why  this 
people,  though  possessing  the  metal  and  the  technical  skill, 
nevertheless  did  not  use  it  for  the  manufacture  of  arms. 
The  ])roducti(jn  could  not  have  been  abundant  enough  to 
supply  the  whole  nation  or  even  the  professional  soldier 
with  metal  weapons.  They  preferred  therefore,  to  continue 
in  the  ignorance  of  the  Stone  Age. 

*  There  is,  indeed,  one  passage  in  Herrara  (Antonio  de),  Hist.  Gen. 
de  los  liecbos  de  los  Castelhuios,  Madrid,  1729,  in  his  iutrodiictory  De- 
scripcion  de  las  Indias,  §§  Zacatula  and  Colima,  where  the  working  of 
copper  mines  by  the  indigenous  people  of  these  provinces  is  mentioned: 
"There  are  very  abundant  copper  mines  in  this  district,  more  towards 
the  East,  and  near  the  port  of  Santiago.  The  Indians  make  marvelous 
vessels  (vasos)  of  this  copper,  because  it  is  sweet  (dulce).  They  have, 
however,  still  another  kind  of  copper,  which  is  hard,  and  which  they  em- 
ployed for  tilling  the  gronnd,  instead  of  using  iron,  for  they  were  not 
acquainted  with  iron  before  the  Spaniards  entered  tlie  kingdom."  As 
will  be  seen  later,  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  latter  assertion.  But  we 
fear  the  former  to  be  an  anachronism  and  the  manufacturing  of  vasos  de 
cobre  (copper  vessels)  will  have  to  be  assigned  to  the  epoch  after  the 
Conquest,  when  the  art  of  liammering  was  introduced  and  eagerly  ac- 
cepted and  practised  by  the  natives. 


16 

Where  the  Mexicans  found  tlie  lead  that  was  seen  in  the 
market-place,  naj,  even  the  purposes  for  which  tliey  migiit 
have  used  it,  we  have  been  entirely  unable  to  learn.  Lead 
in  the  language  of  the  Nahoas,  is  called  temeztU  (telt  stone, 
metzli  moon),  moon  stone,  a  name  picturesque  and  charac- 
teristic, as  were  most  of  those  which  stand  in  the  list  of 
objects  tliat  belong  to  the  realm  of  nature.  Not  a"  single 
picture  referring  to  lead  can  be  found  in  the  Mexican 
Codices.  The  same  must  also  be  said  of  tin,  tlie  name  of 
which  was  maochictl,  a  word  seemingly  Nahoatl  in  form, 
but  whose  root  was  probably  derived  from  a  foreign  lan- 
guage. It  will  be  gratifying,  however,  to  learn  from  the  pen 
of  the  great  conqueror  Cortes  himself,  where  the  natives, 
and  afterwards  his  followers,  found  their  tin.  To  quote  the 
language  of  Cortes,*  "I  am  without  artillery  and  weapons, 
though  I  have  often  sent  money  to  obtain  them.  But  as 
nothing  drives  a  man  to  expedients  so  much  as  distress,  and 
as  I  had  already  lost  the  hope  that  Your  Royal  Majesty 
might  be  informed  of  this,  I  have  mustered  all  my  strength 
to  the  utmost  in  order  that  I  might  not  lose  what  I  have 
already  obtained  with  so  much  danger  and  sacrifice  of  life. 
I  have  therefore  arranged  to  have  men  immediately  sent 
out  in  search  of  copper,  and  in  order  to  obtain  it  without 
delay  I  have  expended  a  great  amount  of  money.  As  soon 
as  I  had  brought  together  a  suflicient  quantity,  I  procured  a 
workman,  v/ho  luckily  was  with  us,  to  cast  several  cannons. 
Two  half-culverines  are  now  ready,  and  we  have  succeeded 
as  far  as  their  size  would  permit.  The  copper  was  indeed 
all  ]"eady  for  use,  but  I  had  no  tin.  Without  tin  I  could  do 
nothing,  and  it  caused  me  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  find  a 
sufiicient  quantity  of  it  for  these  cannons,  for  some  of  our 
men,  who  had  tin  plates  or  other  vessels  of  that  kind,  were 
not  willing  to  part  with  them  at  any  rate.     For  this  reason 

*  Carta  de  Heruan  Cortes  al  Emperador,  do  la  grau  ciudad  de  Tenoch- 
titlan,  desta  Nueva  Espaua,  a  13  dias  del  mes  de  Octubre  de  1524:.  Edicion 
Gayangos  (Dou  Pascual  de),  Paris,  18G6. 


17 

I  liave  sent  out  people  in  all  directions  searchino"  for  fin, 
and  the  Lord,  who  takes  care  of  everything,  willed  gra- 
ciously that  when  onr  distress  had  reached  its  highest  point, 
I  found  among  the  natives  of  Tachco*  small  pieces  of  tin, 
very  thin  and  in  the  form  of  coins.f  Making  further  inves- 
tigations I  found  that  this  tin,  there  and  in  other  provinces 
was  uäed  for  money,  also  that  this  tin  was  obtained  from 
the  same  province  of  Tachco,  the  latter  being  at  a  distance 
of  26  leagues  from  this  town.  I  also  discovered  the  locality 
itself  of  these  mines.  The  Spaniards  whom  I  despatched 
with  the  necessary  tools  brought  me  savijjles  of  it,  and  I 
then  gave  them  orders  that  a  sufficient  quantity  should  be 
procured,  and,  though  it  is  a  work  of  much  labor,  I  shall 
be  supplied  with  the  necessary  quantity  that  I  require. 
While  searching  for  tin,  according  to  a  report  from  those 
skilled  in  the  subject,  a  rich  vein  of  iron-ore  was  also  dis- 
covered. 

Now  supplied  with  tin  I  can  make  the  desired  cannons, 
and  daily  I  try  to  increase  the  number,  so  that  now  I  have 
already  five  pieces  ready,  two  half  culverines,  two  which  are 
still  smaller,  one  field-piece  and  two  sacT'es,  the  same  that  I 
brought  with  me,  and  another  half-culverine  which  I  pur- 
chased from  the  estate  of  the  Adelantado  Ponce  de  Leon." 

Li  the  above  report  of  Cortes,  therefore,  we  are  informed 
of  the  name  of  the  locality  where  tin  was  found  and  dug 
by  the  natives.  So  we  have  the  facts  established  that  both 
copper  and  tin:}:  were  dug  by  the  natives,  that  there  was  a 


*  Tachco,  to-day  Tasco,  at  a  distance  of  25  miles,  S.  S.  W.  from  the 
Capital.  A.  v.  Humboldt  visited  the  memorable  spot.  See  Essay  s.  1. 
Nouv.  Espague,  Livre  IV.,  Chap.  xi. :  "At  the  west  of  Tehuilotepec,  is 
the  Cerro  de  la  Campaiiia,  where  Cortes  begau  his  work  of  investigation." 

t  The  words  of  the  text  are  :  "  Ciertas  pie9e9uelas  dello,  a  manera  de 
moueda  muy  delgada,  y  procedieudo  por  mio  pezoquiza,  halle  que  en  la 
dieha  provincia  y  aun  en  otras,  se  tratabapor  moneda." 

X  In  Molina's  vocabulary  a  suggestion  can  be  found  for  what  technical 
purposes  tin  might  have  been  employed.      The   word  teputzlacopintli  is 


18 


traffic  in  tliem  at  tliat  time,  that  Cortes  liiinself  succeeded 
in  oettino;  at  the  mines  from  which  they  were  extracted,  and 
tliat  lie  had  not  been  mistaken  in  his  former  recognition  of 
their  display  for  sale  in  the  pnl)lic  market. 

But  before  these  ores  could  be  shaped  into  the  above 
named  commercial  forms,  it  is  clear  that  they  still  needed 
to  undergo  a  process  of  smelting.  As  to  the  peculiar  mode 
of  smelting  ])ursued  by  the  natives,  we  have  not  been  able 
to  find  any  distinct  reference  in  the  writings  of  the  clironi- 
clers.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  ancient  Mexicans  under- 
stood the  method  of  the  Peruvians  of  melting  their  copper 
in  furnaces  exposed  to  the  wind  on  the  lofty  sierras,  but  we 
may  form  for  ourselves  an  idea  of  how  they  proceeded  from 
a  picture  in  Codex  Mendoza,  page  71,  fig.  2-i, 

Cut  7  gives  a  faith- 
ful reproduction.  Cut  7. 

In  the  midst  of  an 
earthen  tripod,  sur- 
rounded by  smoke  and 
flames,  we  perceive  a 
small  disk  of  a  3'ellow 
color.  Our  attention 
is  called  to  the  peculiar 
mark  imprinted  on  the  smeitiug  gow. 

surface    of    the     disk. 

Upon  searching  in  Lord  Kingsborough's  Collection,  Yol.  Y., 
page  112,  plate  71,  where  the  interpretation  of  the  little 
picture  is  given,  we  learn,  that  the  man  sitting  by  the  tripod, 
is  meant  to  be  a  goldsmith.  Hence  we  conclude  the  disk 
must  be  understood  to  mean  a  round  piece  of  gold,  and  that 
very  probably  the  mark  printed  on  it,  was  the  usual  symboli- 


translatecl  with  cauuto  de  estaiio,  para  boradar  piedras  preciosas  (cyl- 
inder of  tin  for  perforating  precious  stones).  We  maj',  therefore,  pre- 
sume that  the  holes  bored  through  the  well  known  green  jade  trinkets, 
were  drilled  bv  Ihe  aid  of  the  mentioned  caiiuto  de  estaiio. 


10 

C!il  sif^n  for  gold.*  At  the  rii:^ht  of  the  tripod  sits  a  mnn 
wrapped  in  his  inantle,  no  doubt  the  master  of  the  work- 
slio]) ;  for  the  addition  of  a  flake  flying  from  liis  mouth,  as 
the  typical  sign  for  language  or  command,  gives  us  a  right 
to  su])pose  that  we  have  before  us  the  so-called  temach- 
tiani,  or  master  of  the  trade.  At  the  left  side  crouches 
the  apprentice,  tlamachUlli.      He  holds  in  his  right  hand 


*  This  little  figure  symbolizing  gold,  recurs  only  once  more  in  all  those 
Mexican  paintings  which  we  have  been  able  to  examine.  It  stands  in 
Vol.  I.,  Kingsb.  Collection,  Cod.  Mendoza,  page  13,  fig.  4,  and  is  identical 
with  that  represented  by  the  engraving.  We  do  not  venture  too  far  in 
asserting  that  the  symbol  on  this  gold  piece  represents  a  genuine  Mexi- 
can numeral.  It  is  composed  of  a  cross,  having  a  dot  in  each  of  its 
quadrants.  This  cross  is  the  well  known  symbol  of  the  number  8000 
(xiquipilli),  and  each  dot  stands  for  the  number  1.  We  have  thus  ex- 
pressed four  times  8000  (nahui  xiquipilli)  or  32,000.  Here,  however,  the 
interpretation  ends,  so  far  as  it  maybe  based  upon  accepted  authorities. 
Whatever  else  there  is  to  be  learned  concerning  this  number  32,000, 
found  on  the  gold  piece,  must  be  derived  by  the  confessedly  hazardous 
process  of  induction. 

Nevertheless,  let  us  try  this  process  and  ascertain  what  the  number 
32,000  actually  I'efers  to.  In  answering  this  question  it  may,  perhaps, 
fairly  be  assumed  that  the  number  stands  in  a  direct  relation  to  a  certain 
numerical  unity,  like  that  in  which  hundreds  stand  to  the  tens,  100:  1. 
Such  a  numerical  unity,  however,  presupposes  the  existence  of  some 
tangible  equivalent,  which  in  Mexican  commei'ce,  if  it  was  not  some 
small  piece  of  metal,  would  have  had  some  other  conventional  represen- 
tation, either  in  merchandise  or  in  labor.  If  such  a  unity  actually  ex- 
isted it  is  clear  that  its  value  must  have  been  fixed  either  by  weight  or 
by  measure.  There  is,  however,  no  positive  proof  that  such  a  unity,  fixed 
by  weight  or  measure,  ever  existed  among  the  Mexicans.  Cortes,  in  the 
above  quoted  letter,  pretends  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  detect  the 
use  of  any  weights  or  scales,  and  no  writer  after  him  has  touched  this  ques- 
tion or  given  any  other  decision.  Eespecting  measures,  there  is  no  direct 
testimony  at  all.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  hardly  to  be  imagined 
that  these  people,  of  whose  religious  administration  and  social  polity  we 
have  such  abundant  evidences,  should  have  been  deficient  to  such  an  ex- 
tent in  the  department  of  their  commercial  polity  as  not  to  have  found 
any  method  by  which  the  proportion  between  the  value  of  the  precious 
metal  to  merchandise  in  all  its  forms  was  to  be  expressed.  We  must 
guard  ourselves  against  the  fallacy  that  because  we  are  not  acquainted 
with  the  method  it  could  not  have  existed.  There  are  grounds  to 
believe  that  Cortes  was  right  in  saying  that  the  Mexicans  did  not  know 


20 

a  staff,  one  end  of  which  is  in  his  month  and  the  other 
is  placed  in  the  crucible.  Tlajpitzqm^  in  the  Nahoatl  lan- 
guage means  at  the  same  time  a  flute  player  and  a  melter  of 
metal.  This  etymological  version  therefore  conveys  the 
idea,  that  the  staff  held  by  the  smelter  signifies  a  pipe  or 
tube  used  for  increasing  heat  by  blowing  the  fire,  as  the 
staff  is    similar  to   a  long  pipe  or  flute  and  is  held  in  the 


the  use  of  weights  (their  vocabulary  does  not  show  any  word  answering 
to  peso,  pesilhi,  libra,  balauza  romaua),  but,  we  thinlv  they  knew  per- 
fectly the  use  of  measures  (the  vocabulary  gives  about  twenty  words  for 
all  varieties  of  this  operation) ;  and  in  regard  to  a  certain  unity  of  mea- 
sure employed  in  gold  transactions,  there  are  indications  given  by  other 
trustworthy  writers  that  this  unity  might  be  detected  in  the  quills,  of 
conventional  length,  and  probably  of  conventional  diameter,  which 
quills  were  filled  up  with  grains  of  gold  dust,  by  the  color  and  shades 
of  which  they  graduated  the  respective  value.  Berual  Diaz,  Chapter 
92 :  Antes  de  salir  de  la  misma  plaza,  estaban  otros  muchos  mercaderes, 
que,  seguu  dixeron,  era  que  tenian  a  vender  oro  en  granos  corao  lo  sacan 
de  las  minas,  raetido  el  oro  en  unos  canutillos  delgados  de  los  anserones 
de  tierra  (thin  goose  quills)  e  asi  blancos  porque  se  pareciese  el  oro  por 
defuera,  y  por  el  largor  y  gordor  äe  los  canutillos  (length  and  width  of 
the  quills)  tenian  entre  ellos  su  cueuta  (they  made  up  their  account) 
que  tantas  mantas  o  que  xiquipiles  de  cacao  salia  o  qualquier  otra  cosa 
a  que  lo  trocavan. 

This  point  being  settled  let  us  next  introduce  one  other,  for  it  will 
contribute  to  strengthen  the  probability  that  besides  the  quill  there  ex- 
isted still  a  lower  unity,  that  of  the  grain  of  gold  itself,  by  which  they 
counted.  For  this  purpose,  let  us  turn  again  to  the  gold  piece  repre- 
sented in  the  painting.  It  is  round.  This  reminds  us  of  what  was  told 
by  Cortes  of  the  little  pieces  of  tin  discovered  in  Tachco,  which,  he  said, 
were  used  as  coins.  Likewise,  we  read  in  Bemal  Diaz  that  Motezuma 
used  to  pay  with  pieces  of  gold  when  he  lost  in  playing  joa^o?  (trictrac) 
with  his  Spanish  jailors.  The  word  employed  by  the  author  and  eye- 
witness of  the  game,  is  "tejttelo,"  which,  according  to  Spanish  usages  and 
the  dictionaries  of  their  language,  signifies:  a  round  piece  of  metal. 
The  author  moreover  informs  us  of  the  value  of  this  tejuelo.  It  was  50 
ducats  of  weight  and  must,  therefore,  have  been  equivalent  to,  at  least, 
one  hundred  dollars  of  gold.  Since  Bernal  Diaz  in  this  entire  passage 
wishes  to  express  his  highest  esteem  for  Motezuma  on  account  of  the 
princely  generosity  with  wliich  he  paid  even  those  whom  he  knew  had 
cheated  him,  we  may  fairly  conclude  that  these  lejuelos  were  not  the 
lowest,  but  rather  the  highest,  gold  pieces  that  he  had  at  his  disposal. 
Should  we  now  remember  the  number,  32,00U,  which  is  the  highest  found 


21 

month  of  the  workman.  In  liis  left  liand  he  holds  a  similar 
staff,  but  there  is  no  means  of  recognizing  whether  it  is  a 
stick  for  stirring  the  embers,  or  a  tube  to  be  used  alter- 
nately with  tlie  other.  Now,  we  shall  be  permitted  to  draw 
a  conclusion  from  this  process  of  smelting  gold  as  to  tlie 
manner  of  smelting  copper.  Tlie  i:>rocess  must  have  been 
exactly  tlie  same  with  both.  For,  if  the  Mexican  goldsmith, 
with  the  aid  of  a  blowpipe,  was  able  to  increase  the  heat  of 
the  fire  to  such  a  degree  as  to  make  gold  fusible,  a  heat 
which  requires  1,100"  C,  he  cannot  have  found  greater 
ditHculties  in  melting  copper,  which  requires  nearly  the  same 
degree  of  heat ;  and  tin,  which  is  far  more  easily  fusible, 
could  liave  been  treated  in  the  same  way. 

Melting  was  followed  by  casting  into  forms  or  moulds, 
and  these  moulds  must  have  been  of  stone.  This  might 
be  conciluded  from  the  language  of  Torquemada  and 
Gomara.*     The  words  "  hy  placing  one  stone  above  another 


represented  in  Mexican  pictures  (tliey  generally  never  exceed  that  of 
8000,  the  xiqxdpilli),  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  the  Motezuma-tejuelo, 
about  100  dollars  worth,  might  have  been  equivalent  to  32,000  unities, 
while  this  unity  may  have  been  one  grain  of  gold.  For  if  we  would 
divide  100  dollars  of  gold  into  32,000  equal  parts,  or  still  farther  divide 
one  gold  dollar  into  320  equal  parts,  each  part  would  represent  a  very 
small  portion  of  gold,  but  still  large  enough  to  be  counted  separately 
with  the  finger.  This  was  the  way  the  gold-dust  was  collected  on  the 
placeres,  not  by  men  but  by  women  and  children.  The  procedure  was 
primitive,  indeed,  in  the  highest  degree.  In  such  a  way,  however,  gold 
gathering  was  undoubtedly  practised  in  the  first  stage  of  men's  civiliza- 
tion. If  not  written  in  history,  yet  the  linguistical  testimony  bears  wit- 
ness to  it.  We  find  the  expression  ^'^  grain  of  gold"  to  be  the  common 
property  among  the  ancient  and  modern  nations  in  connection  with  com- 
merce and  the  weighing  of  gold. 

*  Toi-qiiemada  (Fray  Juan  de)  Monarquia  Indiana,  Madrid,  1613,  Vol. 
II.,  Book  13,  Cliapter  1.  "The  goldsmiths  did  not  possess  the  tools 
necessary  for  hammering  metals,  but  with  one  stone  placed  above  an- 
other one,  they  make  a  flat  cup  or  a  plate."  (Pero  con  una  piedra  sobre 
otra  hacian  una  taza  liana  y  un  plato.)  Gomara,  I.  c.  "  They  will  cast  a 
platter  in  a  mould  with  eight  corners,  and  every  corner  of  several  metals, 
that  is  to  say,  the  one  of  gold,  the  other  of  silver,  without  any  kind  of 
solder.  They  will  also  cast  a  little  caldron  with  loose  handles  hangiug 
4 


22 

one,"  are  too  clear  to  leave  the  least  doubt  as  to  what 
the  author  meant.  This  process  will  account  for  the  abso- 
lute identity  we  had  the  opportunity  to  observe  existing 
between  certain  trinkets  of  the  same  class,  coming  chiefly 
from  Nicaragua  and  Chiriqui.  No  specimens  of  a  mould, 
however,  have  come  to  our  view,  or  have  been  heard  of  as 
existing  in  any  collection,  probably  because  whenever  they 
were  met  by  the  "  huaqueros^''  they  did  not  recognize  them 
as  such,  and  threw  them  away. 

The  scanty  knowledge  we  have  of  all  these  interest- 
ing technical  details  will  not  be  wondered  at,  if  we  consider 
that  we  derive  it  from  no  other  class  of  writers  than  from 
unlearned  soldiers,  and  monks  unskilled  in  the  practical 
matters  of  this  world.  But  still,  the  principal  reason  for 
this  want  of  information  is  that  the  Mexican  artist  was  as 
jealous  in  keeping  his  devices  secret,  as  the  European. 
They  also  formed  guilds,  into  which  the  apprentices  were 
sworn,  and  their  tongues  were  bound  by  fear  as  well  as 
interest.     Let  us  quote  only   one  instance.     The   Vice-King 


{ 


thereto,  as  we  used  to  cast  a  bell.  They  will  also  cast  in  a  mould  a  fish 
with  one  scale  of  silver  on  its  back  and  another  of  gold ;  they  will  make 
a  parrot  of  metal  so  that  his  tongue  shall  shake  and  his  head  move  and 
his  wings  flutter ;  they  will  cast  an  ape  in  a  mould  so  that  both  hands  and 
feet  will  stir,  and  holding  a  spindle  in  his  hand,  seeming  to  spin,  yea, 
and  an  apple  in  his  hand,  as  if  he  would  eat  it.  Our  Spaniards  were  not 
a  little  amazed  at  the  sight  of  these  things,  for  our  goldsmiths  are  not 
to  be  compared  to  theirs."  Bemal  Diaz,  Chapter  91.  '*  I  will  first  men- 
tion the  sculptors  and  the  gold  and  silversmiths,  who  were  clever  in 
working  and  smelting  gold,  and  would  have  astonished  the  most  cele- 
brated of  our  Spanish  goldsmiths;  the  number  of  these  were  very  great 
and  the  most  skilful  lived  at  a  place  called  Azcapotzalco,  about  four 
leagues  from  Mexico."  Petrus  Marttjr,  Decade  VI.,  Chapter  6.  (A  letter 
written  to  Pope  Adrian  VI.)  "The  chief  noblemen's  houses  (iu  Ni- 
caragua) compass  and  inclose  the  King's  street  on  every  side;  in  the 
middle  site  whereof  one  is  erected,  in  which  the  goldsmiths  dwell.  Gold 
is  there  molten  and  forged  (?)  to  be  formed  into  divers  jewels,  and  is 
formed  into  small  plates  or  bars,  to  be  stamped  after  the  pleasure  of  its 
owners  and  at  length  is  brought  into  the  form  and  fashion  they  desire, 
and  that  neatly  too." 


i 


23 

Meiidoza  reports  to  the  Emperor*  that  he  offered  to  pardon 
one  of  those  workmen,  if  he  woiikl  disclose  how  lie  was 
able  to  coiititerfeit  the  Spanish  coins  in  so  striking  a  way. 
But  the  native  preferred  to  remain  silent  and  was  put  to 
death. 

Here  is  the  place  for  asking  the  question :  Would  not  the 
early  Mexicans,  aside  from  their  practice  of  casting  the  above 
metals,  have  employed  also  that  of  iiammering?  Our  reply 
would  be  emphatically  in  the  negative,  if  taking  the  expression 
"  hammering  "  in  its  strict  meaning,  which  is  that  of  work- 
ing with  the  hammer.  The  writers  of  the  Conquest  have 
left  the  most  explicit  testimony,  that  the  natives,  only  after 
the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  became  acquainted  with  this 
instrument,  and  with  the  art  of  usino-  it  for  workinsj  hiujh 
reliefs  out  of  a  metal  sheet.  Moreover,  the  native  vocabu- 
lary has  no  word  for  the  metal  hammer  as  it  is  commonly 
understood.  Yet  the  wooden  mallet  was  known,  the  so- 
called  quaukoloUi.,  and  used  by  the  sculptors.  In  the  gradual 
education  of  mankind  in  technical  knowledge,  beating  of 
metals,  of  course,  must  have  preceded  casting.  The  ances- 
tors of  the  early  Mexicans,  at  a  certain  epoch,  stood 
on  the  same  low  stage  of  workmanship  as  their  more 
distant  northern  brethren.  But  when  the  inventor  of  the 
mould  had  taught  them  how  to  multiply  the  objects  most 
in  demand,  by  the  means  of  this  easy,  rapid  and  almost  infalli- 
ble operation,  we  must  not  imagine  that  he  had  done  away 
entirely  with  the  old  practice  of  beating  and  stretching 
metal  with  a  stone.  Tlie  practice,  in  certain  cases, 
would  have  been  maintained :  as  for  instance,  when  a 
diadem,  a  shield,  or  a  breastplate  was  to  be  shaped,  and  on 
occasions  when  the  object  to  be  made  required  the  use  of 
a  thin  liat  sheet  of  metal.  Such  objects  are  not  only  de- 
scribed  by   the   writers,   but   are    also    represented    by    the 


*  Loreuzana  (Dou  Frauc,  Antoaia  de)  Historia  Ue  Nueva  Espaiia,  page 
378,  Note  2. 


24 

native  painters.  A  specimen  of  such  a  kind  is  mentioned, 
which  on  account  of  its  extraordinary  beaut}^,  workmanship 
and  value  left  a  deep  impression  on  the  conquerors.  It  was 
the  present  which  Motezuma  made  to  Cortes  at  his  landing, 
on  the  Culhua  coast,  "  the  two  gold  and  silver  wheels  ;"  the 
one,  as  they  said,  representing  the  Sun,  the  other  the  Moon. 
According  to  the  measures  they  took  of  them,  these  round 
discs  must  have  had  a  diameter  of  more  than  five  feet.  It 
is  preposterous  to  imagine  that  round  sheets  of  this  size 
should  have  been  the  product  of  casting.* 

We  pass  on  now  to  discuss  the  various  tools  which  we 
have  reason  to  think  were  cast  in  copper  or  in  bronze,  by 
the  early  Mexicans. 

The  axe  stands  in  the  first  place.  Cortes,  we  shall  re- 
member, omitted  to  specify  any  of  the  objects  which  he 
saw  exposed  for  sale  in  the  market-place.  JS^ot  so  his  com- 
panion, Bernal  Diaz.  He,  after  a  lapse  of  -iO  years,  when 
occupied  with  the  writing  of  his  memoirs,  has  no  recollec- 
tion of  other  tools,  which  he  undoubtedly  must  have  seen, 
except  the  much  admired  bronze  axes.  Specimens  of  these 
were  sent  over  to  Spain  in  the  same  vessel  on  which  the 
above  mentioned  presents  to  the  Emperor  were  shipped. 
At  their  arrival  at  Falos,  Petrus  Martyr  of  the  Council 
House  of  the  Indies  was  one  of  the  first  to  examine  the 
curiosities  sent  from  the  New  World,  and  to  gather  from  the 
lips  of  the  bearers  their  verbal  comments.  His  remarks 
on  the  axes  he  had  seen,  are  "  with  their  bronze  axes  and 
hatchets,  cunningly   tempered,   they   (the  Indians)  fell  the 


♦  See  Bernal  Diaz,  Chap.  39. 

Petrus  Martyr  de  Angleria,  English  edition  of  Eden,  Islands  of  the  West 
Indies,  ptige  1G9  :  "Circumference  of  xxviii  spans  (spithamariim  28^." 

lorqufmada  Man.  Ind.,  Lib.  IV.,  Cap.  17. 

Three  letters  on  Cortes'  landing  in  Yucatan,  edited  by  Fredric  Midler, 
Amsterdam,  1871.  (1)  Their  width  being  seven  spans,  (2)  larger  than  a 
wagon's  wheel,  and  made  as  if  beaten  out  of  white  iron.  (3)  Two 
wheels,  the  one  of  gold  and  weighing  30,000  castellanos,  the  other  of 
silver,  weighing  50  mark.     These  pieces  ureas  large  as  a  millstone. 


25 

trees."  There  arc  throe  expressions  in  this  passage  whicli 
will  claim  our  attention.  First,  we  learn  that  two  classes 
of  axes  were  sent  over,  one  of  which  Martyr  recognized 
as  a  "  set'M/'/6',"  the  other  as  a  '•'■  dolahra^''  hence  a  connnon 
axe,  and  another  which  was  like  a  pick  or  a  hoe.  Further  on 
we  shall  give  an  illustration  of  these  axes,  taken  from  the 
])ictures  of  the  natives,  when  we  are  to  recur  again  to  this 
subject.  Our  author,  in  the  second  place,  describes  the  two 
axes  as  of  bronze,  for  this  is  the  English  rendei'ing  of 
the  Latin  expression  :  durichalcea.  Thirdly,  we  learn,  that 
the  blailes  were  "  cunningly  tempered "  or  "  argute  tem- 
perataP     This  langnage  requires  explanation. 

The  attentive  reader  will  remember  what  has  been  said 
respecting  Cortes  and  Bernal  Diaz,  whether  they  recognized 
the  bronze  objects  in  the  market  as  a  mixture  of  copper 
and  tin,  of  themselves,  or  whether  they  had  been  inquisitive 
enough  to  ask  for  information,  and  in  consequence  learned 
that  it  was  a  common  practice  among  the  woi-kmen  to  mix 
these  two  metals,  in  certain  pro[)ortions,  in  order  to 
produce  a  harder  quality  of  copper.  The  latter  hypothesis 
seems  to  gain  a  certain  corroboration  from  Martj-r's  lan- 
guage. For  there  cannot  be  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  what 
he  meant  when  putting  down  the  words  "cunningly  tem- 
pered." lie  wished  to  express  the  idea,  that  he  had  positive 
grounds  for  the  conviction,  that  the  metal  of  which  the 
axes  were  made,  was  not  a  natural  but  an  artificial  y^voAwcX. 
What  grounds  for  this  conviction  he  had,  he  does  not, 
however,  communicate  to  his  reader. 

Our  autiior  has  the  well  deserved  reputation  of  being  one 
of  the  fullest  authorities  for  all  that  concerns  the  discovery 
and  c<uiquest  of  the  western  hemisphere.  Of  all,  howevoi", 
that  he  has  written,  the  pages  containing  the  landing  of 
Cortes  in  Yucatan,  and  the  entrance  of  the  Spaniards  in 
the  capital  of  Motezuma,  appear  to  have  been  the  most 
attractive  to  the  general  reader  and  the  student;  these  pages 
being  torn  and  soiled  in  the  existing  copies  of  his  oi-igin;il 


26 

Latin,  as  well  as  of  its  translation  into  foreign  languages. 
We  mention  this  circumstance,  for  it  is  not  without  a  certain 
bearing  upon  our  question.  It  proves  how  confidently  the 
reading  public  has  drawn  upon  the  author's  statement,  and 
how  eagerly  students  have  sought  to  digest  his  amazing 
accounts,  quite  unsuspicious,  however,  of  the  errors  in  dates 
as  well  as  facts;  admiring  rather  than  criticizing  the  pompous 
phraseology  of  his  mediaeval  Latin,  or  his  often  very  sugges- 
tive but  somewhat  flighty  speculations.  In  Petrus  Martyr, 
therefore,  we  may  recognize  the  originator  of  the  wide- 
spread theory  that  the  Mexicans  possessed  the  secret  of 
manufacturing  bronze  in  the  highest  perfection  and  in 
accordance  with  metallurgical  rules.  We  are,  however, 
forewarned.  The  statement  is  of  importance,  and  must  be 
weighed  before  accepting  it.  We  fear  it  will  fail  like  many 
genial  but  unsupported  inspirations,  of  which  our  author 
was  susceptible.  If  we  ask  whence  he  derived  the  notion 
that  the  bronze  tools  were  "argute  temperata"  we  shall 
find  that  he  failed  to  give  any  authority.  Petrus  Martyr, 
whom  we  often  find  quoting  the  full  names  and  special 
circumstances  by  the  aid  of  which  he  gathered  the  material 
for  his  historical  letters,  does  not  follow  this  laudable  prac- 
tice on  this  occasion,  even  though  the  matter  was  one  of  im- 
portance to  investigators  like  himself.  For  these  instruments 
of  bronze,  and  many  other  tools  sent  over,  must  have  been, 
in  another  way,  still  more  interesting  to  him  than  the 
objects  of  industry  themselves.  These  tools  afforded  the 
most  palpable  proof  of  an  independent  industry  practised 
by  that  strange  people  beyond  the  sea  ;  they  were  a  key 
perhaps  also  to  the  riddle,  how  it  was  possible  to  perform 
those  marvels  of  workmanship.  This  silence  of  Petrus 
Martyr  respecting  the  details  of  tiie  "  argut'ta  "  which  he 
professes  that  the  natives  em[)lo3'ed  in  manufacturing  their 
bronze  is  so  much  the  more  striking,  since  we  find  him 
enlarging  a  long  while  upon  their  manufacture  of  paper ; 
and   he  shows  himself  correctly   informed    respecting  that 


27 

process.  It  is  clear  that  the  one  was  as  well  worth  detailing 
as  the  other.  Therefore  we  cannot  he][)  expressing  the  sus- 
picion, that  whilst  he  had  correct  information  respecting  the 
one,  he  had  none  respecting  the  other. 

It  would,  however,  be  venturing  too  much  to  reject  so 
important  a  statement  merely  on  the  grounds  alleged.  In 
order  to  save  it,  we  could  fairly  say,  that  he  omitted  his 
I'eferences  through  carelessness.  Accepting  this  position, 
let  us  then  seek  to  ascertain,  who  his  informants  might  have 
been,  and  chiefly  inquire  what  they  were  able  to  tell  him 
about  tlie  manufacture  of  bronze  in  Mexico. 

The  circumstances  accompan^nng  the  arrival  of  the  pre- 
cious gifts  from  the  capital  at  the  Camp  of  Cortes,  their 
sliipping  and  unlading  at  Palos,  and  their  registration  at 
the  custom-house,  are  perfectly  known.  From  them  we 
gather  the  following  points :  First,  no  Spaniard  had  yet  set 
foot  in  the  interior,  they  were  still  loitering  on  the  shores 
of  Yera  Cruz,  where  the  embassies  of  Motezuma  made 
their  appearance.  Hence,  they  were  still  shut  off  from 
the  opportunity  of  inspecting  the  workshops  of  Tezcuco, 
Mexico  and  Azcapotzalco,  the  centres  from  which  this  special 
class  of  merchandise  was  spread  over  the  whole  isthmus. 
Cortes,  who  had  many  reasons  for  hastening  the  transfer  of 
the  precious  treasures  to  the  ships,  without  much  delay 
despatched  one  of  them,  intrusting  two  of  his  friends, 
Montejo  and  Puerto  Carrero,  with  the  mission  of  present- 
ing to  the  Emperor  the  report  of  his  startling  discoveries 
and  the  presents  coming  from  the  new  vassal-king.  Petrus 
Martyr,  indeed,  mentions  these  two  cavaliers,  as  being  Cortes' 
messengers,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  it  was  from  their 
lips  that  he  gathered  among  other  correct  information  also 
that  about  the  manufacture  of  paper.  The  special  kind  of 
paper  he  describes,  is  one  which  was  manufactured  and 
used  exclusively  on  the  coast  of  Yucatan  and  Yera  Cruz, 
not  tlie  Y><^per  of  the  magney-plant  which  grows  on  the 
high  plateaus,  but  tliat  of  the  amatl-tree,   a  native  of  the 


28 

tierra  caliente.  Being  in  the  very  conntry  where  this 
kind  of  paper  was  manufactured,  the  Spanish  writers,  there- 
fore, had  the  opportunity  of  hearing  how  paper  was  made, 
even,  possibly,  of  seeing  the  process  itself,  which  they  had 
not  enjoyed  in  the  case  of  bronze.  Could  tliey  have  got  the 
information  from  the  mouths  of  the  embassadors  ?  We 
know  they  held  shyly  aloof.  The  intercourse  was  very  cere- 
monious, and  difficult  besides,  since  the  conversation  passed 
througli  the  two  native  languages,  and  we  cannot  fairly 
imagine  that  the  technical  question  of  manufacturing  bronze 
should  have  become  one  of  the  topics  of  inquiry.  More- 
over, we  do  not  believe  that  special  attention  would  have 
been  paid  to  these  bronze  implements,  if  we  consider  the 
overpowering  impression  which  the  richness  and  rareness  of 
the  other  objects  must  have  caused  them.  Finally,  would 
they  not  have  believed  the  yellow  metal  to  be  gold  ?  since 
they  dreamt  of  nothing  else,  and  were  far  from  imagining 
that  the  opulent  ruler  of  Mexico  would  have  made  their 
Emperor  a  present  of  poor  bronze  tools. 

We  are  not  able  to  offer  any  conclusive  evidence  against 
the  remarkable  statement  made  by  Petrus  Martyr.  We  are 
fully  aware  how  many  positive  proofs  are  required  to 
render  it  totally  invalid.  But  we  deemed  it  to  be  our  duty 
not  to  withhold  from  our  readers  the  many  grave  doubts  we 
entertain  against  its  too  ready  acceptance.  We  have  still  to 
add,  that  this  statement  stands  isolated  and  witliout  support 
in  the  whole  literature  of  the  Conquest.  His  contemporary 
writers,  indeed,  occasionally  speak  of  copper  axes  that  were 
tempered  by  an  alloy.  None  of  them,  however,  goes  so  far 
as  he,  to  impute  to  the  early  Mexicans  the  preparation  of 
an  artificial  bronze,  as  was  so  manifestly  implied  by  the 
words,  argute  temperatis. 

The  passages  Avliich  speak  about  the  axes  used  by  tlie  na- 
tives are  cited  below*.     Three  kinds  are  mentioned,  stone. 


*  Bemal  Dian,  Chap.  92  :  "Bronze  axes,  and  copper  and  tin."      Petrus 
Martyr,  Dec.  V.,  Chap.  10  :  "  Bronze  axes  and  edges,  cunningly  tempered." 


29 

(;()l>per  und  bronze  axes.  The  first  of  tliein  must  have  been 
ill  use  among  sucli  tribes  as  lived  outside  of  the  circle  of 
Mexican  trade  and  civilization,  or  among  those  which  inten- 
tionally held  themselves  aloof.  For  its  retention  and  use 
the  complete  absence  of  ores  in  certain  districts  may  have 
had  a  decided  influence,  as  for  instance  was  the  case  with 
tlie  peninsula  of  Yucatan.*     The   shape  of  the   Yucatecan 

Gomara,  CJiap.  210 :  "They  also  have  axes,  borers  and  chisels  of  copper 
mixed  with  gold,  silver  or  tin."     Landa  Rel.,  d.  I.,  Cosas  de  Yucatan,  Ed. 
Brasseur,  Paris,  1864,  pag.  170,  with  acut  of  a  Yucatecan  axe  : 
"They had  little  axes  made  of  a  certain  metal,  and  From  Landa. 

shaped  as  the  illustration  shows.     They  fastened        .  H  ^ 

them   into  the  top  of  a  wooden  handle,  one  side         /  V 
serving  as  a  weapon,  the  other  for  cutting  wood. 

They  sharpened  them  by  hammering  the  edge  with  stones."  Tor- 
quemada,  Man.  Ind.,  Lib.  13,  Cap.  Si:  "The  carpenters  and  carvers 
worked  with  copper  instruments."  Herrera,  Dec.  IV.,  Lib.  8,  cap.  3  : 
"In  Honduras  (1530)  they  cleared  large  mountains,  for  agricultural 
purposes,    with  axes   made   of  flintstoue." 

liemesal.  Hist.  d.  I.  Prov.  de  Chiapas  y  Guatemala,  1606:  "They 
clear,  every  year,  large  mountains  of  woods,  in  order  to  prepare  them 
for  the  reception  of  the  seed  corn,  as  is  the  custom  in  the  whole 
province  of  Vera-paz ;  and  before  they  got  the  iron  axes  they  had  to 
work  hard  because  they  felled  the  trees  with  copper  axes  and  often 
spent  an  entire  day  in  cutting  one  single  tree,  though  of  inferior  size ;  and 
if  the  tree  was  larger  tliree  and  four  days,  those  axes  being  very  apt  to 
break;  and  having  experienced  the  strength  of  iron,  they  appreciate  all 
tools  made  of  it,  and  thus  they  held  our  axes  and  machetes  in  great 
esteem."  CogoUudo,  Hist.  d.  Yucatan,  Lib.  IV.,  Cap.  3,  mentions  axes  as 
an  article  of  trade  in  Yucatan:  "  Copper  axes,  brought  from  Mexico, 
which  they  exchanged  for  other  merchandize."  Doeumentos  ineditos, 
Madrid,  1864,  Vol.  I.,  pag.  470:  "The  Captain,  Gil  Gonzales  de  Avila,  ar- 
rived here  in  Sto.  Domingo  (from  Nicaragua)  and  sends  to  His  Majesty 
14,000  pesos  de  oro  and  15,000  pesos,  proceeding  from  axes  which  they 
said  contained  gold,  and  6150  pesos  de  oro  proceeding  from  bells  which 
they  also  said  contained  gold.  All  this  he  said  he  was  presented  with  dur- 
ing his  discoveries  which  he  was  making  in  the  Province  of  the  South 
sea."  Petrus  Martyr,  Dec.  VI.,  Chapt.  2  and  3,  states  the  same  fact  on  the 
authority  of  Gil  Gonzales'  treasurer,  Cereceda. 

*  The  absolute  absence  of  mines  in  Yucatan  is  a  fact  that  needs  no 

further  corroboration.     It  might,  however,  be  of  interest  to  hear  the 

language  used  by  Landa,  Rel.  d.    las  cosas  de  Yucatan  :  1.  c.  §  5  "  There 

exist  many  beautiful  structures  of  masonry  in  Yucatan,  all  of  them  built 

5 


30 

blades  and  that  of  the  handle  and  the  adjustment  of  both, 
at  least  as  far  as  is  shown  (see  cut  8)  by  the  pictures  of  the 
Dresden    Codex,  which   are    of    genuine  Yucatecan  origin, 

Cut  8. 


Axes  of  Yucatan. 


appear  to  have  been  identical  with  those  of  the  interior  of 
Anahuac. 

Among  the  copper  and  bronze  axes  noted  below,  those 
of  Nicaragua  appear  to  have  been  of  an  uncommonly  rich 
alloy  of  gold.  The  reader  will  smile  at  Herrera's  account 
of  the  shrewdness  shown  by  the  native  ladies  in  keeping  for 
themselves  the  plates  of  pure  gold  they  were  attired  with, 
and  burdening  the  soldiers  of  Gonzales  witli  heavy  metal 
axes.*     The  axes  mentioned   by  Goinara,  undoubtedly  came 


of  stone  and  showing  the  finest  workmanship,  the  most  astonishing  that 
ever  were  discovered  in  the  Indies ;  and  we  cannot  wonder  at  it  enougli 
because  there  is  not  any  class  of  metal  in  this  country  by  which  such 
works  could  be  accomplished." 

*  Herrera  (Dec.  III.,  Lib.  4,  Cap.  5 J  having  the  original  reports  before 
his  eyes,  represents  this  scene  as  follows:  "Multitudes  of  Indians 
flocked  along  the  ways,  astonished  to  see  the  beards  and  the  dressing  of 
the  Spaniards.  The  chief  person  they  met  was  Dirianjeu,  the  warlike 
caci<iue,  who  came  attended  by  five  hundred  men  and  seventeen  women, 
covered  with  gold  plates,  all  drawn  up  in  order,  but  without  arms  and 
with  ten  banners  and  trumpets,  after  their  fashion.  When  they  came 
near,  the  banners  were  disi)layed  and  the  cacique  touched  Gonzales' 
hand,  as  did  all  the  five  hundred,  everyone  giving  him  a  turkey.  Yet 
each  of  the  women  gave  him  twenty  axes  of  gold  (veintc  hachas  de  oro) 
fourteen  carats  fine,  each  weighing  eighteen  pesos  ant!  some  more." 
We  find  in  Ooiedo  (Gonzalo  Fernandez  de),  Ilistoria  yen.  y  nat.  de  las  In- 


31 

froin  tlio  mines  of  Aiiuliuac,  since  their  alloy  was  not  only 
gold,  but  tin  and  silver.  Gomara  is  the  first  who  notes 
the  chisel  and  the  borer. 

Let  us  further  ascertain,  wdiat  Father  Sahagun*  is  able  to 
tell  us  about  Mexican  metal  tools.  As  a  teacher  of  the  young 
native  generation,  he  made  it  his  life's  task  to  teach  his 
pupils  all  that  concerned  the  religious  belief,  the  histor}''  and 
the  industry  of  their  forefathers.  We  extract  from  Lib.  10, 
cap.  7,  the  following  passages  and  translate  them  as  literally 
as  possible  :  "  The  goldsmith  is  an  expert  in  the  selection 
of  good  metal.  He  knows  how  to  make  of  it  whatever  he 
likes  and  does  it  with  skill  and  elegance.  He  is  conversant 
with  all  kinds  of  devices,  and  all  this  he  does  with  composure 
and  accuracy.  (Co/i  iiiedida  y  compas).  He  knows  how  to 
purify  tlie  ore,  and  makes  plates  of  silver  as  well  as  of  gold 


dias,  at  the  end  of  Vol.  IV.,  five  folio  quarto  pages  with  illustrations  re- 
ferring to  the  chapter  he  wrote  on  Nicaragua,  and  we  learn  from  his  text 
that  he  made  the  sketches  himself  during  his  sojourn  in  Nicaragua  (1524). 
They  represent  views  of  the  volcano  of  Masaya,  gymnastic  sports  of  the 
Indians,  a  plan  of  the  town  of  Tecoatega,  and  three  Indian  arms,  an 
estorica,  a  porra  and  an  alabarda.  Each  of  the  drawings  is  provided 
with  a  number  which  correctly  corresponds  to  that  written  in  the  text, 
except  those  three  drawings  of  the  arms,  for  which  we  could  not  find 
the  text.  Upon  closer  examination  we  discovered  a  suggestion  made 
(on  page  81)  that  some  ancient  copyist  or  editor  must  have  revised 
Oviedo's  original  manuscript,  who  was  supposed  to  have  dropped  the  in- 
scription to  which  the  drawings  of  the  three  arms  belong,  perhaps,  only  on 
account  of  the  illegibility  of  Oviedo's  handwriting.  On  the  other  hand, 
we  cannot  help  expressing  our  doubts  as  to  the  fact  that  these  three 
kinds  of  arms  should  have  been  in  use  with  the  Nicoyans  or  Nicaraguaus. 
Notwithstanding  we  give  the  cut  of  the  alabarda,  wliich  has  the  shape  of 
a  genuine  mediieval  battle-axe. 


From  Oviedo. 


*  Sahagun  (Bernardino  de),  Historia  do  la  N.  Espaüa,  Ed.  Carlos  M.  de 
Bustamaute,  3  Vol.,  Mexico,  1830. 


32 

from  the  cast  metal.  He  knows  likewise  how  to  ranke 
moulds  of  carbon  {inoldes  de  carhoii)^  and  how  to  put  the 
metal  into  the  fire  in  order  to  smelt  it.  The  unskilfid  gold- 
smith does  not  know  how  to  purify  the  silver,  he  leaves  it 
mixed  up  with  the  ashes,  and  has  his  sly  ways  in  taking  and 
stealing  something  of  tlie  silver."  Further  on  in  Cap.  24  : 
"  he  who  is  a  trader  in  needles  {agujas),  casts,  cleans,  and, 
polishes  them  well ;  he  makes  also  bells  {cascabeles),  filters 
{aguijillos),\>\\r\i:^\\e&{pi(nzo)ies),  nails  (e/avc^^),  axes  {hachas), 
hatchets  {destrales),  cooper's  adzes  {azuelas),  and  chisels 
[escojjlos).'''' 

In  these  two  passages  is  summed  up  all  that  we  sought 
to  gather  piecewise  from  the  writers  of  the  Conquest,  on 
our  special  question.  A  few  new  features,  however,  are 
cropping  out  in  this  enuuieration  of  implements,  which  give 
rise  to  the  suspicion,  that  tlie  goldsmith  is  described,  not  as 
he  worked  before  the  year  1521,  but  as  he  had  perfected 
himself  and  enlaro-ed  his  technical  knowledo;e  throuo;h  the 
intervention  of  Spanish  mechanics,  in  the  year  of  Sahagun's 
writing,  about  1550.  We  mean  the  moulds  of  carbon,  the 
nails,*  and  the  cooper's  adze,  of  which  we  read  in  Sahagun 
exclusively,  and  of  which  no  pi(;tures  or  other  evidences  of 
their  ante-Spanish  existence  have  been  preserved. 

Pictures  of  needles  frequently  occur  in  the  Mexican 
paintings.  But,  it  is  understood  that  they  are  without  an 
eye,  the  introduction  of  our  sewing  needle  having  been  an 


*  The  following  notice  of  three  prehistoric  nails  is  given  for  what  it  is 
worth.  Torquemada,  Lib.  VI.,  Cap.  23:  Under  the  I'eign  of  Nezahual- 
pilli  of  Tezcuco,  the  statue  of  the  God  of  Rain,  Tlaloc,  having  been 
found  to  be  tinieworn  and  corroded,  a  new  one  was  made  and  located  on 
the  mountain  of  Matlalcueye,  the  ancient  site  of  this  statue.  "  When  this 
idol  of  Tlaloc  was  replaced  by  the  new  one,  it  happened  that  one  of  its 
arms  broke  otf.  They  put  it  on  again  and  fastened  it  with  three 
gold  nails.  Later,  when  the  new  faith  was  introduced  in  their  countries, 
this  diabolical  image  was  brought  down  from  the  hills,  at  the  time  of  the 
first  Bishop  Zummaraga,  and  was  broken  to  pieces  in  his  presence,  but 
not  before  removing  the  three  gold  nails  spoken  of." 


33 

actual  revelation  to  the  natives.  The  liead  of  a  Mexican 
needle,  or  rather  pin,  was  full,  and  split  like  that  of  an 
animal's  bone.  The  borer,  certainly,  had  no  handle  or  spiral 
point.  Of  all  these  stitching,  piei'cino-  and  drilling  instru- 
ments nothing  has  been  preserved,  in  kind. 

A  cliisel  of  copper  was,  however,  discovered  by  Captain 
Dupaix*  near  the  cit}'  of  Antequera  (in  Oaxaca).  We  give 
a  faitliful  fac-simile  of  it  in  cut  9.     It  is  described  by  the  dis- 

CüT  9. 


Copper  Chisel  found  in  Oaxaca. 


coverer  in  the  following  words  :  "  There  are  also  many  chisels 
of  red  copper  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  city,  a  speci- 
men of  which  I  possess,  and  will  show  in  the  illustrations. 
Its  lengtli  is  seven  Indies,  and  the  thickness  is  one  square 
inch  (sic),  and  one  side  is  edged,  and  this  edge  is  a  little 
dull,  showing  that  it  had  been  in  use.  We  do  not  know  the 
temper  they  gave  to  these  instruments  in  order  to  employ 
them  in  their  labors  and  in  their  arts,  or  to  give  the  wood 
or  possibly  the  stone  a  regular  form." 

We  do  not  know  if  this  chisel  is  still  preserved  in  the 
Museum  of  Mexico,  to  which  it  was  presented  by  Captain 
Dupaix.  If  not,  we  hope  to  be  somewhat  indemniüed  by 
another  specimen  of  bronze  chisel,  of  which  we  are  now  in 
pursuit,  and  which  according  to  description  is  similar  in 
form  and  composition  to  the  one  spoken  of.  Seuor  Andrez 
Aznar  Perez,  now  in  New  York,  ploughed   up  such  a   tool 


*  Dupaix,   Antiquites    Mexicaines,    Paris,  1834,  Vol.  II.,  Plauclie  26, 
fig.  75,  and  text  in  Vol.  I.,  page  21,  No.  75. 


34 

about  twelve  years  ago,  on  his  plantation  near  the  river 
Tzompan  in  Tabasco,  at  the  depth  of  nearly  12  inches. 
It  was  entirely  solid,  and  had  a  slightly  rounded  edge,  about 
an  inch  in  length,  and  he  offers  to  have  it  brought  from 
Tucatan  for  farther  examination. 

From  the  illustration  of  Captain  Dupaix  and  the  descrip- 
tion of  Mr.  Perez,  we  can  for  the  moment  only  conclude 
tliat  the  ancient  Mexican  chisel  was  similar  in  its  form  to 
that  which  our  stone-masons  now  make  use  of. 

In  regard  to  the  form  of  ancient  Mexican  axes,  we  gave 
a  general  idea  at  the  beginning  of  this  essa}^  but  we  have 
still  several  details  to  discuss.  In  the  illustrations  tlie 
curved  wooden  handle  will  no  doubt  appear  remarkable. 
The  Mexican  painters  were  such  faithful  imitators  of  what 
thev  saw,  tliat  we  cannot  presume  they  would  have  indulged 
in  wliat  was  an  essential  alteration  of  the  object  to  be  copied. 
If  the  handle  of  the  axe  was  curved,  they  would  have 
copied  it  curved,  and  thus  it  appears  not  only  in  the  Mexi- 
can but  also  in  the  Yucatecan  picture  codices. 

Those  acquainted  witli  the  practical  handling  of  axes,  and 
with  felling  trees,  know  that  a  curved  handle  must  increase 
the  swinging  power  of  an  axe  to  a  considerable  degree,  and 
to  have  used  this  form  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  Mexican 
technical  craft  and  cunning.  It  would  be  worth  while  to 
investigate  whether  this  use  of  a  curved  handle  was  exclu- 
sively  confined  to  the  natives  of  Central  America,  or  had 
passed  beyond  its  boundaries,  north  as  well  as  south. 

We  farther  learn  from  the  pictures,  that  not  the  blade  of 
the  axe,  but  the  handle  had  an  opening  at  a  certain  distance 
from  the  top,  into  wliich  the  blade  w^as  fitted. 

The  specimens  represented  in  the  cuts  1,  3,  5,  6,  8,  {jppear 
to  be  common  chopping  axes.  In  the  coat  of  arms  of  the 
town  of  Tepozcolula  (see  cut  4),  however,  as  already 
pointed  out,  the  form  of  the  axe  differs  from  those  of 
Tepoztla  and  Tepoztitlan.  In  order  to  obtain  a  correct  idea 
of  these  particular  kinds  of  axes,  we  invite  the  reader  to 


35 


Cut  10. 


Mexican  carpenter. 


compare  it  witli  another  picture  (Cod.  Mendoza,  page  71, 
fiu;.  77),  and  which  we  give  in  cat  10.  The  shape  of  the 
axes  themselves  are  evidently  alike,  in 
the  one  as  well  as  in  the  other  picture, 
only  that  in  cut  10  the  axe  is  not  in 
connection  with  the  coat  of  arms,  but 
is  held  by  a  man  who  is  at  work  drop- 
ping or  squaring  the  branch  of  a  tree, 
from  which  chips  are  flying  off.  This 
kind  of  axe,  evidently,  served  a  dif- 
ferent purpose  from  those  chopping 
axes  of  Tepoztla.  It  was  the  hatchet 
used  by  the  carpenter.  Thus  reads  the 
ex})lanation  given  in  Kingsb.  Coll.,  Vol.  V.,  page  112. 

This  instrument  is  of  the  most  extravagant  form.  "Were 
it  not  for  the  authentic  interpretation  of  the  picture  and 
tlie  accessories  we  should  not  be  able  to  make  out  what  kind 
of  object  it  represented,  and  least  of  all  that  it  was  a 
hatchet. 

Let  us  examine  its  construction.  The  wooden  handle  has 
the  shape  of  all  the  Mexican  and  Yucatecan  axes, — that  of  a 
somewhat  curved  club.  But  instead  of  its  being  chopped 
oflt'  at  the  top,  the  handle  extends  farther  and  is  bent  down 
to  an  angle  of  about  45  degrees.  On  the  head  of  this 
bent  top  a  deep  notch  is  visible,  into  which  the  blade  of  a 
little  axe  is  fixed,  being  fastened  by  a  tongue  or  string 
wound  three  times  around.  Thus,  when  a  blow  was  struck, 
we  can  presume,  the  head  of  the  tenon  would  not  move, 
from  the  resistance  it  met  from  the  bottom  of  the  notch. 
Thus  much  the  picture  proves,  and  we  cannot  learn  any- 
thing more  of  this  instrument.  We  only  presume  that  in 
order  to  get  a  durable  handle,  they  sought  a  curved  branch, 
and  that  tliis  branch  came  generali}'  from  one  particular 
class  of  trees.  The  word  Tejpozcolula  signifies,  properly, 
tlie  town  in  which  copper  was  bent,  tepuzquc  (copper),  and 
coloa  (to  bend),  but  we  learn   from   our    picture,  that  the 


36 


Cut   11. 


Tepozcolula. 


Cut  12. 


natives  understood  these  words  to  signify  the  town  where 
the  curved  handles  were  manufactured,  which  seems  to  he 
corroborated  by  another  picture  which  we  found  for  the 
coat  of  arms  of  the  town  of  Tepozcolula,  Cod. 
Mendoza,  pi.  45,  fig.  5,  in  which  the  painter 
(see  cut  11)  has  laid  a  special  stress  upon  this 
curving  of  the  handle^  by  shaping  the  end  of 
the  handle  into  an  exaggerated  spiral  form. 

There  existed  also  a   town,  in    which    car- 
penter's work  was  the  chief  occupation  of  the 
inhabitants.     This  is  to  be  inferred  from  the 
coat     of    arms    belono-ino;    to    the    town    of 
Tlaximaloyan,  cut  12,  Cod.  Mendoza,  pi.  10,  fig.  5. 

Tlaxhna   signifies   to    work  as    a   carpenter,    and    tlaxi- 

malli  a  chip  of  wood.  The 
"  little  "  axe  of  copper,  found 
by  Dupaix  at  Quilapa,  and  of 
which  he  gives  an  illustration 
not  differing  from  the  known 
shapes  of  all  axes,  is  very  pro- 
bably a  specimen  of  this  car- 
penter's axe  (see  Dupaix,  Vol. 
IL,  3d  Expedition,  Planche 
IL,  fig.  4). 

It  is  but  natural  to  think  that  being  in  possession  of  the 
large  chopping  axe,  tlie  invention  of  the  small  hatchet  would 
have  become  incomparably  easier  than  that  of  this  awkward 
carpenter's  tool.  We  are,  however,  too  little  informed  to 
judge  or  to  criticize  its  construction  and  rather  incline  to 
think  that  these  people  had  reasons  of  their  own  for  giving 
it  the  form  it  has.  It  must  have  been  the  one  which  Sahagun 
called  "  destral,"  or  carpenter's  hatchet.* 

We  can  still  offer  another  form  of  copper  tool  once  used 


5, 


Town  of  Tlaximaloyan. 


*  With  GUI'  first  glance  at  tlie  picture  of  Tepozcolula  we  were  iuduced 
to  believe  that  we  had  found  therein  a  representation  of  the  instrument 
which  Pelrus  Martyr  called  a  "  dulabra,"  and  Sahagun  *'  azuela."    The 


37 

by  the  natives.  Dupaix*  discovered  the  original  near  the 
same  town  where  he  had  found  tlie  chisel.  Below  is  a  copy 
of  his  drawing  in  cut  13  : 

Cut  13. 


Copper  Tool,  found  by  Dupaix  in  Oaxaca. 

The  edge  of  this  tool  will  be  noticed  to  have  a  curve  be- 
longing to  the  circumference  of  a  circle.  The  cutting  blade 
is  10  inches  wide.  Like  the  axes,  it  has  a  tenon  by  which  it 
could  be  fastened  to  an  opening  in  a  wooden  handle.  It  will 
appear  from  closer  description  that  it  was  too  thin  to  have 
been  used  for  heavy  operations.  Let  us  consult  the  narration 
of  the  explorer  :  "  This  instrument  is  of  red  and  very  pure 
copper,  and  when  touched  it  gives  out  a  sonorous  sound. 
The  metal  is  not  hammered  but  cast.  It  is  of  not  much 
weight,  symmetrical,  and  of  graceful  shape.     The  contours 


translation  of  the  one  is,  pick  or  hoe,  and  of  the  other,  cooper's  adze. 
Both  of  these,  therefore,  would  have  been  instruments  in  which  the  blade 
and  its  edge  are  at  right  angles  to  their  handle,  and  the  management  of 
which  requires  both  hands  of  the  workman.  This  supposition  is  refuted 
by  the  pictui'e  of  the  carpenter  (cut  10),  who  is  distinctly  seen  to  hold 
the  piece  of  wood  in  the  left  and  the  tool  in  his  right  hand. 
*  Dupaix,  1,  c,  Vol.  II.,  Planche  26,  fig.  74,  and  text  Vol.  I.,  page  21. 
6 


38 

are  regular  and  resemble  tliose  of  an  anchor.  It  is  flat  on 
both  sides,  the  portion  serving  as  a  handle  (or  tenon)  is  a 
little  thicker  and  slopes  towards  the  edge,  which  cuts  as  well 
as  a  chisel.  An  Indian,  named  Pascual  Baltolano,  from  the 
village  of  Zocho  Xocotlan,  half  a  mile  distant  from  this  city 
of  Antequera,  a  few  months  ago,  when  tilling  his  field  met 
witli  an  earthen  pot  which  contained  23  dozen  of  these 
blades,  their  quality,  thickness  and  size  being  a  little  difierent 
from  each  other.  This  gives  rise  to  tlie  supposition  that  there 
existed  various  moulds,  by  means  of  which  these  specimens 
were  multiplied  and  cast.  They  did  not  differ  greatly  from 
that  which  I  possess.  We  meet  here  with  a  great  difficulty, 
which  is  to  determine  to  what  usage  these  instruments  were 
destined, — to  agriculture  or  mechanics,  as  instruments  of 
sacrifice  or  a  variety  of  offensive  weapon  that  was  fixed  in 
the  point  of  a  lance  ?  That  which  is  certain,  however,  is  that 
they  are  found  in  abundance  in  this  province  and  that  mer- 
chants buy  these  metals  from  the  Indians  and  rank  them 
high  on  account  of  the  superior  quality  of  the  ore."  On 
proceeding  in  his  expedition,  the  same  author  reaches  the 
village  of  Mitla,  where  in  the  parochial  church  he  receives 
the  following  disclosure  on  the  purpose  of  the  before-men- 
tioned tools  :  "  One  day,  when  hearing  mass  in  Mitla,  I  no- 
ticed an  ancient  picture,  which  represented  (San.)  Isidro,  the 
patron  of  the  laborers,  and  saw  him  painted  holding  in  his 
right  hand  a  pole  armed  with  the  problematic  blade.  I  there- 
from conclude,  that  like  the  ancient  Indians,  the  native  la- 
borers of  to-day  have  adopted  this  instrument  as  a  distinc- 
tive mark  of  their  profession,  and  that  instead  of  being  an 
instrument  of  death  it  must  be  viewed  as  one  for  giving  life." 
This  explanation  agrees  satisfactorily  with  what  could  be  in- 
ferred from  its  size  and  its  peculiar  shape,  and  if  we  imagine 
the  tenon  bent  and  in  this  form  fastened  to  the  top  of  a  pole 
we  should  possibly  have  discovered  a  certain  garden  instru- 
ment of  which  the  Spaniards  spoke  as  always  used  by  the 
natives,  the  uictli,  or  coa,  hoe.      It  was  never  described  in 


39 

particular,  nor  could  we  discover  it  in  the  pictures,  but  Mo- 
lina's translation  of  uictli  with  "  coa  "  which  is  hoe,  tells  the 
story. 

There  is  still  something  more  in  this  passage  of  Dupaix, 
that  is  worth  considering.  Among  the  23  dozen  of  the 
instruments  contained  in  the  earthen  pot,  and  of  which  he 
was  informed  that  they  were  similar  in  shape  to  that  which  he 
had  found, it  is  clear  that  there  must  have  been  a  great  number 
of  very  diminutive  size  ;  otherwise  we  cannot  conceive  how  so 
many  of  them  would  have  been  placed  in  the  pot,  at  all.  Let 
us  take  advantage  of  this  suggestion  and  suppose  Dupaix's 
engraving,  cut  13,  reduced  to  a  diminutive  size.  We  make 
thereby  a  little  figure,  and  we  cannot  deny  that  it  looks  like 
a  Greek  Tau.  Of  such  a  Greek  Tcm,  formed  from  copper, 
and  used  by  the  natives  as  money  at  the  time  of  the  Con- 
quest mention  is  made  by  the  chroniclers.*  They  may  be 
right,  but  with  the  understanding  that  these  copper  pieces 
were  not  manufactured  for  the  purpose  of  serving  as  coin, 
but  as  tools,  which  of  course,  came  into  market  and  became 
objects  of  barter,  as  we  read  the  copper  bells  also  did,  be- 
sides grains  of  the  cacao  fruit,  bales  of  cotton,  axes  and 
other  articles  of  common  necessity. 

Thus  much,  and  no  more,  we  were  able  to  glean  from  the 
early  literature  of  the  Conquest  and  from  the  paintings  of 
the  natives.  As  we  anticipated  at  the  outset,  the  testimony 
bearing  on  copper  industry  among  the  early  Mexicans  is 
altogether  incomplete  and  lacks  that  fulness  of  description 
in  which  those  writers  indulge  when  treating  topics  of  social 


*  Torqueraada,  Mon.  lud.,  Lib.  — ,  Chap.  — :  "  They  also  used  certain 
copper  coins,  almost  in  the  shape  of  a  Greek  Tau,  t,  its  width  about 
three  or  four  fingers.  It  was  a  thin  piece  of  plate  of  an  uncertain  size, 
and  contained  much  gold."  Clavigero,  The  History  of  Mexico,  Ed.  Ch. 
Culleu,  London,- 1807,  Vol.  VIL,  Sect.  36,  page  386,  evidently  copies  the 
sentence  when  he  says  :  "  Their  fourth  species  of  money,  which  most 
resembled  coined  money,  was  made  of  pieces  of  copper,  iu  the  form  of  a 
T,  and  was  employed  in  purchases  of  little  value." 


40 

customs,  religious  rites,  or  monstrous  idols.  In  but  few 
instances  the  pictures  gathered  from  the  codices  illustrate 
the  dim  suggestions  and  the  doubtful  wording  of  the  Spanish 
text,  so  as  to  give  at  least  a  general  idea  of  the  localities 
where  the  copper  ores  were  obtained,  of  the  process  of 
smelting,  of  the  moulds  that  were  used,  and  the  objects  or 
tools  that  were  produced  by  these  means. 

One  point  however  we  think  we  have  come  very  near 
deciding,  and  one  which  wlien  collecting  our  notes  was 
constantly  in  mind,  namely  :  Whether  the  Mexican  bronze 
was  to  be  viewed  as  an  artificial  or  a  natural  product  ? 
There  was  a  great  doubt  concerning  this  question  caused  by 
the  first  notices  respecting  the  composition  of  the  bronze. 
The  expressions  of  Cortes  and  Bernal  Diaz  were  of  so  con- 
densed a  character  that  we  were  at  a  loss  how  to  reduce 
them  to  their  elementary  meaning,  and  the  doubt  was  not 
removed  when  examining  apart  each  of  the  sulisequent 
writers  on  the  same  subject.  But  wlien  putting  their  state- 
ments together,  a  certain  basis,  at  least,  could  be  obtained, 
from  which  to  deduce  a  settled  opinion.  From  the  com- 
bined statements  we  learned  that  the  bronze  found  among 
the  natives  contained  a  rich  basis  of  copper,  which  was 
mixed  either  with  gold,  or  with  silver,  or  with  tin,  and 
we  might  infer  from  this  variety  of  admixtures,  that 
the  natives  manufactured  their  laton  according  to  a 
fixed  method.  Bat,  on  the  contrary,  as  the  three  metals 
named  are  always  found  to  be  the  steady  components 
of  Mexican  copper  ore,  we  are  led  to  the  presumption,  that 
these  ores  were  worked  in  their  unaltered  condition,  just  as 
nature  had  produced  them.  It  is  not  indeed  meant  to  teach 
thereby,  that  tlie  native  did  not  appreciate  the  fact,  that 
copper  of  a  deep  red  was  softer  than  that  of  a  lighter 
color.  Whenever  they  had  to  manufacture  a  chisel  and  had 
a  choice  between  the  two  qualities,  we  are  certain  they 
would  have  employed  the  lighter  metal  for  this  purpose. 
But  we  hardly  believe  that  they   considered   the   light  metal 


I 


41 

to  be  a  composition  of  tlie  red  colored  copper  with  either 
silver,  gold  or  tin.  This  belief  would  involve  a  presup- 
position of  metallurgical  science  in  the  early  Mexicans, 
that  we  have  not  the  least  knowledge  they  had  ever 
attained  to.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  there  is  a  strong 
reason  for  the  belief,  that  they  recognized  this  light  metal  to 
be  related  to  the  red  copper.  For  if  they  had  thought  this 
bronze  or  laton  to  be  a  separate  kind  of  metal,  they  would 
have  had  a  separate  name  for  it,  as  they  had  for  all  the 
other  metals,  from  the  gold  down  to  the  tin,  and  even  to  tlie 
cinnabar.  Bronze  would  have  been  called  tepuzque  as  was 
copper,  but  probably — with  the  addition  descriptive  either  of 
color  or  of  hardness. 

We  were  unable  to  discover  one  single  hint,  from  wliich 
to  infer  that  they  possessed  the  knowledge  of  hardening 
copper  by  dipping  the  hot  metal  into  water.  This  is  a  hypo- 
thesis, often  noted  and  spoken  of,  but  which  ranges  under 
the  efforts  made  for  explaining  what  we  have  no  positive 
means  to  verify  or  to  ascertain. 

Though  we  have  gained  so  little  from  our  researches,  tliis 
little,  however,  we  hope  may  incite  others  to  extend  their 
investigations,  and  tlius  render  the  path  clearer  which  we  have 
tried  to  explore  into  tins  field  of  prehistoric  industry.  The 
most  substantial  proofs  and  contributions  may  be  expected 
from  our  fellow-students  in  Mexico.  They  dwell  upon  the 
ground  which  was  the  scene  of  this  ancient  industry.  They 
are  also  in  a  continuous  contact  with  a  numerous  indigenous 
race,  which  despite  of  European  attempts  to  improve  their 
working  facilities,  still  tenaciously  cling  to  their  old  usages 
and  fashions.  Our  Museums  are  overcrowded  with  Mexican 
idols,  pottery,  and  flint  arrow-heads.  One  specimen  of  an 
ancient  tin-borer,  one  of  a  copper  axe  or  hoe,  or  of  a  bronze 
chisel  would  be  counted  as  a  very  welcome  and  valuable 
acquisition. 


THE  KATÜNES  OF  MAYA  HISTORY. 


THE  KATUNES  OF  MAYA  HISTOllY. 


By  Phiilipp  J.  J.  Valentini,  Ph.D. 
[Translated from  the  German,  by  Stephen  Salisbury,  Jr.l 

[From  Proceedings  of  American  Antiquarian  Society,  October  21,  1879.] 


NOTE  BY  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  PUBLICATION. 

The  Publishing  Committee  are  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  print 
auotlier  paper  from  the  pen  of  Professor  Valentini.  Ilis  previous  con- 
tributions have  been  favorably  received  by  some  of  the  most  competent 
judges.  He  is  always  ingenious  and  suggestive,  taking  care  to  sustain 
his  views  by  adequate  collateral  information,  and  leaving  an  impression 
of  earnestness  and  thoroughness,  even  though  the  reader  should  not  be 
able  always  to  see  the  way  through  his  bold  inferences  to  the  important 
conclusions  deduced  from  them. 

It  seems  apparent  that  new  phases  of  opinion  respecting  the  position 
in  the  world's  history  held  by  the  races  occupying  the  central  portions 
of  the  American  Continent  may  be  looked  for  in  the  near  future.  Or 
rather,  perhaps,  it  may  be  claimed  that  vestiges  of  ancient  and  inde- 
pendent culture,  of  revolutions,  conquests,  and  changing  dynasties, 
extending  back  to  a  remote  period  of  time,  which  have  hitherto  simply 
excited  and  bewildered  travellers  and  explorers,  bid  fair  to  be  subjected 
to  tests  and  comparisons  derived  from  wider  and  closer  observation, 
for  which  the  means  are  accumulating,  and  from  which  definite  results 
are  anticipated. 

It  is  remarkable  how  one  tidal  wave  of  investigation  after  another 
has,  at  different  eras,  invaded  and  receded  from  these  regions,  carrying 
from  them  more  or  less  of  the  fragments  of  their  architectural,  monu- 
mental, and  pictorial  records  —  the  sources  of  doubtful  and  unsatis- 
factory interpretation.  The  Spanish  chroniclers;  the  scientists  of  the 
period  of  Humboldt  and  his  contemporaries  ;  the  French  government  and 
the  learned  societies  of  France,  uniting  their  efforts  to  render  eöective 
the  honest  but  undisciplined  enthusiasm  ofBrasseurde  Bouibourg;  all 
have  experienced  a  subsidence  of  interest  arising  mainly  from  a  want  of 
success  in  yielding  a  sufficiently  plausible  solution  of  a  mysterious  sub- 
ject. The  death  of  Brasseur,  the  fall  of  Maximilian,  and  the  political 
distractions  of  the  French  government  and  people,  are  not  alone  the 
causes  of  suspended  action  on  the  part  of  the  learned  bodies  of  France. 
They  deemed  it  prudent  to  discredit  the  judgment  and  correctness  of 
their  own  agent.  One  at  least  of  Brasseur's  Commission  publicly 
disavowed  responsibility  for  his  opinions;  and  his  attempt  to  interpret 


48 

the   Codex  Troano  by   means   of  the   alphabet  of  Bishop  Landa  was 
proDOunced  by  themselves  to  be  a  faiUire. 

How  signally  the  explorations  of  Del  Rio,  of  Dupaix,  of  Galiudo,  and 
of  De  Waldeck,  failed  to  mal^e  a  permanent  impression  on  the  public 
mind !  How  soon  the  illustrated  narrative  of  Stephens  became  in  a 
measure  disregarded,  and  even  his  reliableness  questioned !  How  com- 
pletely the  nine  ponderous  folios  of  Lord  Kiugsborough's  extensive 
collection  fell  dead  from  the  press,  until  the  great  work  to  which  he  had 
devoted  his  life  and  his  entire  fortune  sold  in  the  marlset  for  less  than  a 
single  useless  production  of  Increase  or  Cotton  Mather !  We  have  seen 
the  elaborate  and  learned  essays  of  Gallatin  upon  Mexican  civilizatiou 
slumbering  with  the  long  sleep  of  the  Ethnological  Society;  the  Geo- 
graphical Society  cautious  about  travelling  out  of  the  routes  of 
regular  expeditions;  even  the  sardonic  "Nation,"  assumed  arbiter  in 
literature,  politics,  and  science,  and  always  ready  for  caustic  criti- 
cism, hesitating  to  venture  far  beneath  the  surface  of  these  important 
inquiries.  The  ill-fated  Berendt  has  perished  in  the  midst  of  his  unfin- 
ished labors ;  and,  lastly,  one  of  the  most  purely  philosophical  investi- 
gators of  Indian  habits  and  history  reasons  in  a  direction  opposed  to 
the  antiquity  and  extent  of  aboriginal  civilization. 

If  there  is  to  be  a  renewal  of  interest  in  Mexican  archaeology,  and  a 
revived  consciousness  of  something  more  to  be  gained  from  the  relics 
of  culture  among  the  early  races  of  this  continent  (a  mc^aning  in  its 
mystical  remains  that  has  not  been  developed),  our  Society  may  claim 
its  share  in  the  re-kindling  or  fostering  of  the  newly  excited  impulse. 
In  saying  this  we  do  not  overlook  the  preparation  which  recent  studies 
of  the  general  condition  of  prehistoric  races  has  created  for  such 
investigations;  but,  in  this  particular  field,  it  has  had  the  fortune  to 
draw  special  attention  to  certain  regions  and  opportunities  of  research. 
This  has  been  due  to  the  earnest  and  liberal  exertions  of  one  of  its 
members,  who,  some  years  since,  passed  a  winter  in  Yucatan,  and  has 
kept  up  a  correspondence  with  friends  and  acquaintances  there.* 
He  embodied  his  observations  and  experiences  in  a  report  on  behalf 
of  the  Council  rendered  in  1876.  He  has  since  endeavored  to  promote 
the  operations  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Le  Plongeon  in  the  actual  field, 
and  has  assisted  in  preparing  the  papers  of  Professor  Valentini  for  our 
publications,  providing  illustrations  in  all  cases  when  practicable.  The 
Eeport  of  the  Council  in  the  present  number  of  "Proceedings"  is  largely 
devoted  to  an  account,  by  the  writerf  of  a  visit  to  the  city  of  Mexico, 
and  his  observations  upon  the  country  and  its  history.  More  than 
twelve  years  ago,  in  January,  1808,  a  generous  member  of  the  So- 
cietyj  had  the  forethought  to  establish  a  department  of  the  library 
composed  of  books  relating  to  Spanish  America,  beginning  with  the  gift 
of  Lord  Kiugsborough's    mammoth   publication,  and  others,  for    the 


'S.  Salisbury,  Jr.,  Esq.       t  Col,  John  D.  Wasliburn.  JTlie  Hou.  Isaac  Davis. 


49 

specialty  of  antiquities,  and  accompanied  by  a  pecuniary  foundation  for 
future  growth.  The  importance  of  a  provision  for  this  particular  pur- 
pose becomes  daily  more  conspicuous  as  attention  is  directed  to  that 
portion  of  the  continent. 

It  is  gratifying  to  perceive  that  such  movements,  with  the  greater 
activity  in  publishing  its  "  Anales"  on  the  part  of  the  Mnseo  National 
de  Mexico,  and  the  issue  of  such  publications  as  that  of  Prof.  Rau  by 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,*  and  the  private  work  of  Mr.  Short,!  are 
not  without  their  influence. 

The  scheme,  which,  although  not  fully  matured,  we  have  reason  to 
believe  a  real  one,  of  sending  an  expedition  to  some  of  the  original 
Mexican  provinces  for  a  thorough  exploration,  at  the  cost  of  a  wealthy 
citizen  of  New  York,  the  results  to  be  printed  in  the  North  American 
Review,  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  fruits  of  the  "  Benaissance." 

S.  F.  Haven, 

For  the  Committee. 


Intkoductory  Remarks. 

In  the   ensuing   discnssion  an   attempt  is   made   to  explain 
the  so-called  "  Katnnes  of  Maya  history." 

The  Manuscript  which  bears  tliis  name  is  written  in  tlie 
Maya  language,  and  its  discovery  is  of  comparatively  recent 
date.  At  its  first  publication  in  1841  it  could  not  fail  to 
attract  the  attention  of  all  those  who  were  engaged  in  the 
study  of  ancient  American  history,  because  it  unveiled  a 
portion  of  the  history  of  Yucatan,  which  had  been  till 
then  entirely  unknown  and  seriously  missed.  At  that  date 
only  a  scanty  number  of  data,  loosely  described,  and  re- 
ferring to  an  epoch  removed  from  the  Spanish  conquest  of 
the  Peninsula  by  only  a  few  decades,  had  appeared  as  the  sole 
representatives  of  a  long  past,  in  which  the  builders  of  the 
ruined  cities  undoubtedly  must  have  lived  an  eventful  life, 
not  to  be  counted  by  a  few  generations,  but  by  a  long  and 
hardly  calculable  number  of  centuries.  This  vacuum  of 
time  the  manuscript  promised  to  fill  out.  Though  it  did 
nototfcr  a  history  conceived  in  the  common  acceptation  of  tlie 

*  The  Palenque  Tablet,  iu  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.    By  Charles  Rau,  1879. 
t  The  Nortli  Americans  of  Antiquity,   their  origin,  migrations,  and   type  of   civilization 
consideretl.    By  John  T.  Short.    1880. 


50 

word,  the  brief  epitome  of  events  which  it  presented,  began 
by  teUiiig  ns  of  the  arrival  of  foreigners  from  distant  lands, 
Avho,  step  by  step  succeeded  in  conquering  the  Maya  soil  and 
who  were  brought  into  significant  connection  with  the  name 
as  well  as  the  fall  of  cities  now  lying  in  ruins  over  the  whole 
country. 

As  to  the  authenticity  of  the  events  reported,  they  have  been 
received  by  many  students  with  a  confidence  and  faitli  rarely 
manifested  when  discoveries  of  sucli  im]iortance  are  brought 
to  light.  As  to  the  form  in  whicli  they  were  presented, 
the  author  seemed  to  exhibit  neither  the  skill  of  a  professional 
nor  the  clumsiness  of  an  occasional  foi'ger.  If  on  the  one  hand 
the  gaps  he  left  betrayed  a  defective  memory,  tliis  circum- 
stance sliould  be  held  rather  as  an  indication  of  his  credibility. 
The  material  from  which  his  information  was  derived,  we 
might  add,  was  extensive,  and  much  of  it  was  probably  lost 
when  he  gave  the  account  at  a  later  period  of  his  life. 

The  events  communicated  being  in  themselves  of  the 
highest  interest,  rose  in  importance  from  tlie  fact  that 
tliey  were  arranged  in  successive  epochs.  A  chance  was 
thereby  given  to  calculate  the  long  space  of  time  tliat  inter- 
vened between  the  arrival  of  the  ancient  and  of  the  modern 
conquerors.  This  difiicult  task  was  attempted  by  the  for- 
tunate discoverer  himself,  Seiior  Juan  Pio  Perez,  of  Yucatan, 
accompanied  by  a  learned  discussion  on  ancient  Maya  chro- 
nology. His  calculation  furnishes  the  sum  of  1392  years, 
the  first  initial  date  to  be  assigned  to  the  year  144  A.  D.,  and 
the  last  to  1536  A.  D. 

Wlien,  some  years  ago  we  undertook  to  examine  the  argu- 
ment of  kScnor  Perez  we  were  not  at  all  astonished  by  tliegreat 
antiquity  of  the  date  he  had  drawn  from  the  Maya  Manu- 
script. For,  nearly  at  the  same  time,  we  had  reached  simi- 
lar results  in  an  attempt  made  to  utilize  certain  records 
which  Ixtlilxochitl  (1590),  and  Veytia  (1760),  (Kingsborough 
Collection,  Vols.  8  and  9),  have  left  regarding  the  earliest 
chronology   of  the  Nahuatl   tribes.       By   adopting  a  more 


51 

rational  metliod  of  computation  than  these  Mexican  writers 
had  followed,  we  were  unable  to  withstand  tlie  conclusion, 
that  the  Nahuatl  people  who  were  immediate  territorial 
neighbors  of  the  Mayas,  considered  the  year  258  A.  D.  tlie 
earliest  date  of  their  arrival  on  and  occupancy  of  the  Mexi- 
can soil.  Thus  we  had  reached  in  this  line  of  investigation 
very  nearly  the  same  results  with  the  Nahuatl  as  Sefior  Perez 
with  the  Maya  chronology,  and  the  suspicion  began  to  dawn 
upon  us  that  these  two  neighboring  people  might,  possibly, 
have  stood  in  a  still  closer  than  a  mere  territorial  connection. 

These  results,  however,  were  only  of  a  very  problematical 
nature.  They  were  derived  from  written  reports,  which, 
after  all,  could  not  be  regarded  as  unquestionable  authority. 
Bat  they  received  a  strong  confirmation  from  a  discovery 
we  made  later  on  the  so-called  Mexican  Calendar  Stone.  In 
our  discussion  of  this  monument  we  believe  that  we  have 
given  ample  proof  of  the  fact,  that  its  principal  zone  con- 
tains a  sculptured  record,  showing  a  series  of  numerical 
symbols,  from  the  computation  of  which  the  year  231 
A.  D.  resulted  as  that  wliich  the  Nahuatls  had  accepted  as 
the  first  date  of  their  national  era. 

Records  presented  in  stone  and  compiled  by  the  nation 
whose  liistory  they  convey,  must  always  be  considered  the 
most  authentic  evidence  of  historical  truth.  Now,  were  we 
also  so  fortunate  as  to  possess  some  Maya  monument,  similar 
to  the  Mexican  Calendar  Stone,  and  were  we  also  able  to 
decipher  it,  we  should  thereby  have  the  means  for  determin- 
ing whether  Maya  chronology  extended  back  to  an  epoch 
diflerent  from  that  of  the  Nahuatl,  or  to  one  identical  with 
it.  That  such  a  monument  once  existed  we  have  no  doubt. 
That  it  may  still  exist,  we  have  no  reasonable  grounds  for 
denying  the  possibility.  It  remains,  however,  still  to  be  dis- 
covered and  to  be  interpreted.  But  since  the  fortunate 
discovery  has  not  yet  been  made,  we  must  rest  satisfied  for 
the  present  with  conclusions  derived  from  extant  written 
records.     The  only  manuscript  of  this   cliaracter  thus    far 


52 

])ronght  to  light,  is  tliat  said  to  liave  been  fonnd  at  Mani,* 
M'hicli  was  translated  by  Senor  Perez  from  the  Maya  lan- 
guage, and  accompanied  by  a  very  valuable  chronological 
interpretation. 

Since  the  close  revision  we  undertook  of  the  latter,  brought 
out  very  striking  coincidences  of  early  Maya  dates  with 
those  of  the  Nahuatl,  and  especially  with  that  indicated  on 
the  Calendar  Stone,  we  thought  it  worth  while  to  reprint 
the  manuscript,  to  discuss  its  contents  again,  and  to  arrange 
them  under  new  points  of  view.  Regarded  by  itself,  the 
manuscript,  indeed,  might  seem  of  only  doubtful  value  in 
settling  an  important  chronological  question.  But  the  com- 
parison of  its  earliest  date  with  that  of  the  Nahuatl  monu- 
ment will  enhance  the  value  of  each  of  them,  because  they 
may  be  considered  as  corroborative  of  each  other. 


The  Maya  Manuscript. 

Maya.  Translation. 

Lai  u  tzolan  Katun  lukci  ti  cab        This  is  the  series  of  "  Katunes  " 

ti  yotoch  Nououal  caute  anilo  Tutul    that  elapsed  from  the  time  of  their 

Xiu  ti   chikin   Ziiiua;    u  luumil  u    departure  from  the  land  aud  house 

talelob  Tulapau  chiconahthau.  of  Nonoual,  in  which  were  the  four 

Tutul  Xiu,  Ijiug  to  the  west  of 
Zuina,  going  out  of  the  country  of 
Tulapan. 
§  1.  Cante  bin  ti  Katun  lie  u  §  1.  Four  epochs  were  spent  in 
ximbalob  ca  uliob  uaye  yetel  Holon  travelling,  before  they  arrived  here 
Chantepeuh  yetel  u  cuchulob:  ca  with  Holonchantepeuh  and  his  fol- 
hokiob  ti  petene  uaxac  Ahau  bin  lowers.  When  they  began  their 
yan  cuchi,  uac  Ahau,  can  Ahau  journey  toward  this  island,  it  was 
cabil  Ahau,  cankal  haab  catac  the  8th  Ahau,  and  the  6th,  4th  and 
hunppel  haab;  tumen  hun  piztun  2d  were  spent  in  travelling;  because 
oxlahun  Ahau  cuchie  ca  uliob  uay  in  the  year  of  the  13th  Ahau  they 
ti  petene  cankal  haab  catac  hunp-  arrived  at  this  island,  making  to- 
pel  haab  tu  pakteil  yetel  cu  xim-  gether  eighty-one  years  they  were 
balob  lukci  tu  luumilob  ca  talob  travelling,  between  their  departure 
uay  ti  petene  Chacuouitan  lae,  u  from  their  country  and  their  arrival 
anoil  lae  81.  at  this  island  of  Chacnouitan. 

Years  81. 


*  liistoria  de  Yucatan.     By  Eligio  Ancona,  Merida,  1879,  Vol.  I.,  page 
95,  note  1. 


53 


§  2.  Vaxac  Ah;ui,  nac  Ah:iii, 
cal)il  Ajaii  kiichci  Chaciiouitan  Ah- 
niL'kat  Tiitul  Xiu  luuippel  liaab 
iniiian  ti  hokal  liaab  cuchi  yanob 
Cliacnoiiilau  lac:    lai  u  habil  lae. 

9!)  auos. 

§  3.  Laitim  nclici  u  cliicpalial 
tziiciibte  Ziyan-caan  lao  Bakhalal, 
can  Aliau,  cabil  Aliau,  oxlalum 
Ahau  oxkal  liaab  cu  tcpalob  Zi.van- 
caaii  ca  cmob  nay  lae  :  lai  u  haabil 
cu  tcpalob  Bakhalal  clinulte  laitun 
cliicpahci  Cliichen  Itza  lae. 

GO  an OS. 

§  4.  BuIhc  Ahau,  bolon  Ahau, 
uuc  Ahau,  ho  Ahau  ox  Ahau,  hun 
Ahau  uac  kal  haab  cu  tepalob  Chi- 
chen  Itza  ca  paxi  Chichen  Itza,  ca 
biuob  cahtal  Champutuii  tl  yanhi  u 
yotochob  ah  Ytzoab  kuyen  uincob 
lae.  120  anos. 

§  5.  Vac  Ahau,  chucuc  u  luumil 
Chanputun,  can  Ahau,  cabil  Ahau, 
oxlahun  Ahau,  buluc  Ahau,  bolou 
Aliau,  uuc  Ahau,  ho  Ahau,  ox 
Ahau,  hun  Ahau,  lahca  Ahau,  la- 
hun  Ajau,  uaxac  Ahau,  paxci  Chan- 
putun, oxlahuu  kaal  haab  cu  tepa- 
lol)  Ciianputuu  tumenel  Ytza  uincob 
ca  talob  u  tzacle  u  yotochob  tu 
oaten,  laix  tun  u  katuuil  binciob 
ah  Ytzaob  yalan  che  yalan  aban 
yalan  ak  ti  nurayaob  lae ;  lai  u  habil 
cuchiui)al  lae.  2(50. 

§  6.  Vac  Ahau,  can  Ahau,  ca  kal 
liaabcatalob  u  heoob  yotoch  tu  ea- 
ten ca  tu  zatahob  Chakanputun : 
lay  u  habil  lae.  40 

§  7.  Lai  u  katunil  cabil  Ahau,  u 
heoci  cab  Ahcuitok  Tutnl  Xiu 
Vxmal.  Cabil  Ahau,  oxlahun  Ahau, 
buluc  Ahau,  bolon  Ahau,  uuc  Ahau, 
ho  Ahau,  ox  Ahau,  hun  Ahau, 
lahca  Ahau,  lahun  Aliau,  lahun  kal 
haab  cu  tcpalob  yetel  u  halach 
uinicil  Chichen  Itza  yetel  Mayalpan  : 
lay  u  habil  lae.  200 

8 


§  2.  The  8th  Ahau,  the  6th 
Ahau ;  in  the  2cl  Ahau  arrived 
Ajmekat  Tutnl  Xiu,  and  ninety- 
nine  years  they  remained  in  Chac- 
iiouitan. Years  99. 

§  3.  In  this  time  also  took  place 
the  discovery  of  the  province  of 
Ziyau-caan  or  Bacalar,  the  4th  Ahau 
and  2d  Ahau,  or  sixty  years,  they 
had  ruled  in  Ziyan-caan  when  they 
came  here.  During  these  years  of 
their  government  of  the  province 
of  Bacalar  occurred  the  discovery 
of  Chichen-Itza.  Years  GO. 

§  4.  The  nth  Ahau,  the9ih,  7th, 
5th,  3d  and  1st  Ahau,  or  120  years, 
they  ruled  in  Chichen-Itza,  when  it 
was  destroyed,  and  they  emigrated 
to  Cliampoton,  where  the  Itzaes, 
holy  men,  had  houses.      Years  120. 

§  5.  The  6th  Aliau  they  took 
possession  of  the  territory  of  Cham- 
poton ;  the  4th  Ahau,  2d,  13th, 
nth,  9th,  7th,  5th,  3d,  1st,  12th, 
lOth  and  8th,  Champoton  was  de- 
stroyed or  abandoned.  Two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  years  the  Itzaes 
reigned  in  Champoton,  when  they 
returned  in  search  of  their  homes, 
and  they  lived  for  several  katunes 
under  the  uninhabited  mountains. 
Years  260. 

§  6.  The  6th  Ahau,  4th  Ahau, 
after  40  years,  they  returned  to 
their  homes  once  more  and  Cham- 
poton was  lost  to  them.     Years  40. 

§  7.  In  this  Katun  of  the  2d  Ahau, 
Ajcuitok  Tutul  Xiu  established 
himself  In  Uxnial ;  the  2d  Ahau,  the 
13th,  nth,  9th,  7th,  5th,  3d,  1st,  the 
12th  and  10th  Ahau,  equal  to  200 
years,  they  governed  in  Uxmil, 
with  the  governors  of  Chichen  Itza 
and  of  Mayapan.  Years  200. 


54 


§  8.  Lai  u  katunil  biiliic  Ahfiu, 
bolon  Ahau,  uac  Ahau,  uaxac  Ahau, 
paxci  u  halach  uinicil  Chichen  Itza 
tumenel  u  kebanthan  Hunac-eel,  ca 
uch  ti  Chacxib  cbac  Chidien  Itza  tu 
kebantban  Hunac-eel  u  halacb  uioi- 
cil  Maj-alpau  ichpac.  Caukal  baab 
catac  lahun  piz  baab,  tu  lahun  tun 
uaxac  Ahau  cuchie;  lai  u  haabil 
paxci  tumenel  Ahzinteyutcbau  ye- 
tel  Tzunte-cum,  yetel  Taxcal,  yetel 
Pantemit,  Xuchu-cuet,  yetel  Ytz- 
cuat,  yetel  Kakaltecat  lay  u  kaba 
uiniciiob :  lae  rauctulob  abmayal 
panob  lae.  90. 

§  9.  Laili  u  katunil  uaxac  Ahau, 
lai  ca  binob  u  pa  ah  Vliiiil  Ahau 
tumenel  u  uahal-uahob  yetel  ah 
Ytzmal  Vlil  Ahau;  lae  oxlahun  uuo 
u  katunilob  ca  paxob  tumen  Hunac- 
eel  :  tumenel  u  oabal  u  naatob ;  uac 
Ahau  ca  ooci :  hunkal  haab  catac 
can  lahun  pizi :  lai  u  habil  cu 
xinbal.  34. 

§  10.  Vac  Ahau,  can  Ahau,  cabil 
Ahau,  oxlahun  Ahau,  buluc  Ahau, 
chucuc  u  luumil  ich  pa  Mayalpan, 
tumenel  u  pach  tulum,  tumenel 
multepal  ich  cah  Mayalpan,  tumenel 
Ytza  uinicob  yetel  ah  Vlmil  Ahau 
lae;  can  kaal  haab  catac  oxppel 
haab :  yocol  buluc  Ahau  cuchie 
paxci  Mayalpan  tumenel  ahuitzil 
oul,  tan  cah  Mayalpan.  83. 


§  11.  Vaxac  Ahau  lay  paxci 
Mayalpan  lai  u  katunil  uac  Ahau, 
can  Ahau,  cabil  Ahau,  lai  haab  cu 
ximbal  ca  yax  mani  espafioles  u 
yaxilci  caa  luumi  Yucatan  tzucubte 
lae,  oxkal  haab  päaxac  ich  pä 
cuchie.  GO. 


§  8.  These  are  the  Katunes  11th, 
9th  and  Gth  Ahau  (sic).  In  the  8th 
Ahau  the  governor  of  Chichen-Itza 
was  deposed,  because  he  murmured 
disrespectfully  against  Hunac-eel. 
This  happened  to  Chacxibchac  of 
Chichen-Itza,  governor  of  the  for- 
tress of  Mayapan.  Ninety  years 
had  elapsed,  but  the  10th  year  of 
the  8ib  Ahau  was  the  year  in  which 
he  was  overthrown  by  Ajzinte-yut- 
chan,  with  Tzuntecum,  Taxcal, 
Pantemit,  Xuch-ueuet,  Ytzcuat  and 
Kakaltecat ;  these  are  the  names  of 
the  seven  Mayalpanes.       Years  90. 

§  9.  In  the  same  Katun  of  the 
SthAhau  they  attacked  Chief  Ulmil, 
in  consequence  of  his  quarrel  with 
Ulil,  Chief  of  Yzamal ;  thirteen  divi- 
sions of  troops  he  had  when  he  was 
routed  by  Hunac-eel ;  in  the  6th 
Ahau  the  war  was  over,  after  34 
years.  l''ears  34. 

§  10.  In  the  6th  Ahau,  4lh,  2d, 
13th  and  11th  Ahau,  the  fortified 
territory  of  Mayapan  was  invaded 
by  the  men  of  Itza,  under  their 
Chief  Ulmil,  because  they  had  walls, 
and  governed  in  common  the  peo- 
ple of  Mayalpan ;  eighty-three 
years  elapsed  after  this  event,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  the  11th  Ahau 
Mayalpan  was  destroyed  by  stran- 
gers of  the  Uitzes,  Highlanders,  as 
was  also  Tancaj  of  Mayalpan. 

Years  83. 

§  11.  In  the  8th  Ahau,  Mayalpan 
was  destroyed ;  the  epochs  of  the 
6th,  4th  and  2d  Ahau  elapsed,  and 
at  this  period  the  Spaniards  for  the 
first  time  arrived,  and  gave  the 
name  of  Yucatan  to  this  province, 
sixty  years  after  the  destruction  of 
the  fortress.  Years  60. 


55 


§  12.  Oxlahuii  Aliau,  biiliic  Aliaii, 
uchci  inayacimil  ich  pa  yetel  noh- 
kakil :  oxlahmi  Alian  cimci  Alipula  : 
uacppel  haab  u  bind  ma  oococ  u 
xocol    oxlahun     Ahau    cucliie,     ti 


§  12.  The  1 :3th  and  11  Ih  Ahau, 
pestilence  and  small  pox  were  in  the 
castles.  In  the  13th  Ahau,  Chief 
Ajpnhi  died;  six  years  were  want- 
ing to  the  completion  of  the  13th 


yanil  u  xocol  liaab  ti  lakin  cuchie,  Ahau;    this  year  was  counted  to- 

canil  kan  cunilalii  pop,  tu  holhun  ward  the  east  of  tlie  wheel,  and  be- 

Zip    catac  oxppeli,   bolon  Yniix  u  gan  on  the  4th  "Kan."    Ajpula  died 

kinil  lai  cimi  Ahpula;  laitun  ano  cu  on  the  18th  day  of  the  month  Zip, 


ximbal  cuchi  lae  ca  oiieUabac  lay  u 
xoc  nuraeroil  anos  lae  1Ö3G  aiios 
cuchie,  oxkal  haab  paaxac  ich  pa 
cuchi lae. 

§    13.     Laili  ma  oococ   u   xocol 


in  the  9th  Ymix;  and  that  it  may 
be  known  in  numbers,  it  was  the 
3'ear  lü3G,  sixty  years  after  the 
destruction  of  the  fortress. 

§  13.     Before  the  termination  of 


buluc  Ahau  lae   lai  ulci   espafioles  tiie    11th   Ahau,  the  Spaniards  ar- 

kul  uincob  ti  lakin  u  talob  ca  uliob  rived,    holy    men    from    the    ea.st 

uay   tac  luumil  lae;     bolon    Ahau  came  with  them  when  they  reached 

hoppci  cristianoil  uchci  caputziliil :  the  land.     The  9th   Ahau  was  the 


laili  icliil  u  katunil  lae  ulci  yax 
obispo  Toroba  u  kaba,  heix  ano  cu 
ximbal  uchie.  1544. 


commencement  of  baptism  and 
Christianity ;  and  in  this  year  was 
the  arrival  of  Toroba  (Toral),  the 
first  bishop.  1544  A.  D. 

Note. — This  Manuscript  has  also  an  introduction  and  close,  which 
Seiior  Perez  has  not  published,  because  the  dates  specified  occurred  in 
the  Spanish  epoch,  and  consequently  were  of  no  interest  to  the  Maya 
student. 


History  of  the  Manuscript. 

In  tlie  interest  of  antlicnticity  it  is  much  to  be  regretted 
that  neither  the  name  of  the  anthor,  his  residence,  nor  the 
date  when  tlie  Manuscript  was  written,  are  known  to  us, 
and  we  are  also  ii:^norant  of  other  matters  of  moment  ; 
whether  the  Manns(u-ipt  is  an  orii^inal  or  a  copy,  or  how 
often  copied,  or  hy  what  family  or  person  it  may  have  been 
preserved  beft)re  it  came  into  the  hands  of  Don  Juan  Pio 
Perez.  Tiiat  rucatccan  gentleman  had  retired  from  Merida, 
the  capital,  to  the  District  of  Peto,  to  devote  himself  to 
his  favorite  studies,  the  ancient  language  and  the  history 
of  his  nation.  The  unusual  interest  that  he  showed  in  this 
direction,  united  to  his  influential  position  as  lirst  officer  of 


56 

tlic  distn'cf,  cn:il)led  liiin  to  obtain  many  small  mannflerii>t 
dccnments  known  to  have  been  written  by  the  natives  in 
their  vei'nacnhir  hmg-uage,  tlie  Ma^'a,  soon  after  tlie  time  of 
tlie  conquest,  wliich,  for  tlie  most  part,  contained  historical 
reminiscences  of  the  time  of  the  sn[)i"emacy  of  tlieir  ancestors. 
Among  these  manuscri[)ts  there  was  a  so-called  Chiluiix 
Balahi  Calendar,  which,  in  the  form  of  an  a|)])endix,  con- 
tained, besides,  the  outlines  of  the  ])rimitive  history  of  Yucatan. 
It  was,  indeed,  but  a  brief  epitome  of  liistorical  events, 
accompanied  by  the  corresponding  dates.  But  its  value  con- 
sisted in  the  circumstance  that  these  dates  were  catalogued 
according  to  successive  epochs;  and  it  i-eqnired  oidy  slight 
inspection  to  disch^se  tlie  fact  that  tliey  extended  back  to 
a  period  not  very  distant  from  our  Oliristian  Era. 

TJiis  was  a  discovery  to  the  learned  world  as  welcome  as 
any  that  could  be  made.  It  was  unique  in  its  kind.  All 
attempts,  thus  far,  had  vainly  sought  to  learn  somet])ing 
about  the  history  of  the  builders  of  those  palaces  and  tenq)les 
with  wiiose  ruins  the  peninsula  was  covered  at  the  date  of 
tlie  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  and  whicli  pointed  to  a  huig 
past  and  to  tlie  unceasing  activity  (»f  a  numberless  ]X)pulation, 
whicli,  while  it  was  skilled  in  the  most  important  l)ran(;hos 
of  art  and  industry,  and  familiar  with  a  luxury  such  as  only 
ancient  Asia  and  India  had  displayed,  was  yet  governed  by 
a  despotic  and  hierarchical  power.  The  native,  wlien  asked 
whose  work  the  ruins  were,  would  answer  nothing  but 
that  they  owed  their  origin  to  men  who,  in  ancient  times, 
had   immigrated  from  far  distant  countries. 

The  Manuscript  disclosed  at  once  the  history  of  these 
strange  immigrants,  showed  the  progressive  march  of  tlio 
conquest,  and  the  contempoi-aneous  foundation  of  the  lai'gest 
cities  then  in  ruins,  and  furnished  in  the  Maya  language 
the  chronology  of  each  event  and  its  (corresponding  ejiocli. 
By  means  of  his  extensive  anti(piarian  knowledge  Senor 
Perez  made  an  exact  translation  of  this  Manuscrijit  into 
Spanish,  and   al'terwards  undei-took  a  critical   interpi'elation 


57 

of  its  contents,  and  aecompanicd  the  wliolo  with  nil  intro- 
diiotoij  exphmatiun  of  tlic  system  of  ancient  Maya  chro- 
no! o<>;y. 

In  the  midst  of  tliese  hibors  ho  was  surprised  by  tlie  ar- 
rival of  tlie  (jelebrated  An.erican  traveller  and  archaäoloo-ist, 
Jolm  l.loyd  Stei)hens,  and  was  induced  to  entrust  to  liim  a 
copy  of  the  MISS,  and  interpretations  to  be  embodied  in  Ids 
woi-k  on  Yucatan,  in  order  to  briniij  them  more  fully  before 
the  world.  His  wishes  were  scrupulousl)'  com))lied  with, 
and  the  Spanish  translation  has  been  rendered  into  literal 
English  by  Mr.  Ste[)hens  in  "Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan," 
vol.  I.,  A]^])endix,  pnges  434-459,  and  vol.  II.,  Appendix, 
pages  465-469. 

Mr.  Albert  Gallatin,  who,  of  all  American  students,  has 
made  himself  most  thoroughly  acquainted  with  what  remains 
of  the  historical  elements  of  the  I^ahuatl  and  Ma^'a  people, 
has  bi'ought  together  tlie  results  of  his  investigations  in  a 
lecture  ])ublished  in  the  "Transactions  of  the  American 
Ethnological  Society,"  New  York,  1858,  vol.  I.,  pages  104 
114.  The  information  therein  contained  attests  an  entire 
familiarity  with  the  method  pursued  by  Seiior  Perez  in  his 
commcntar}',  without,  indeed,  undertaking  any  severe  criti- 
cism of  it.  In  our  opinion  Mr.  John  L.  Stephens  and  Mr. 
Gallatin  are  the  only  Americans  who  have  recognized  Sefior 
Perez's  merits  in  an  unequivocal  nuinner,  and  have  brought 
them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  world. 

This  is  all  we  could  learn  about  the  Manuscript,  nor  have 
we  been  able  to  form  a  supposition,  much  less  to  discover  in 
the  text  itself  any  clue  to  the  source  from  which  the  mdcnown 
Maya  author  could  have  drawn  his  data.  At  the  end  of  the 
JManuscri})!  Seilor  Perez  gives  his  opinion  that  the  Avhole 
was  written  from  memory,  because  it  must  have  been  done 
long  after  the  the  conquest,  and  after  Bisho])  Landa  had 
publicdy  destroyed  much  of  the  historical  picture-writing  of 
the  Mayas  by  an  auto-da-fe^  and  because  the  whole  nar- 
ration is  so  concise  and  condensed  that  it  appears  more  like 
an  index  than  a  circumstantial  description  of  events. 


58 

These  opinions  of  Seiior  Perez  might  cast  a  well  grounded 
suspicion  on  the  authenticity  of  the  manuscript.  We  shall 
try  to  remove  such  doubts,  at  once,  by  presenting  the  follow- 
ing considerations.  We  do  not  believe  that  Bishop  Landa 
succeeded  in  burning  the  entire  treasures  of  Maya  litera- 
ture at  the  notorious  auto-da-fe  in  the  town  of  Mani 
in  1561.  The  autliorities*  to  which  we  have  access  describe 
the  number  of  the  destroyed  objects  so  precisely  tliat  we 
have  every  reason  to  confide  in  their  correctness.  We  read 
of  5,000  idols  of  difi^erent  size  and  form,  13  large  altar 
stones,  22  smaller  stones,  197  vessels  of  every  form  aud 
size,  and  lastly  of  27  rolls  {s'rc)  on  deerskin  covered  with 
signs  and  hieroglyphics,  given  to  destruction  at  that  time 
and  place.  We  may  believe  that  the  terrorism  exercised 
by  Bishop  Landa  liad  a  powerful  influence  on  the  minds 
and  on  the  newly  converted  consciences  of  tlie  natives, 
and  the  Bishop  no  doubt  used  every  possible  means  to  get 
into  his  hands  as  much  as  he  could  of  what  he  considered 
to  be  "  cabalistic  signs  and  invocations  to  the  devil."  But 
we  can  never  believe  that  these  27  rolls  represented  the 
entire  Maya  literature,  collected  fur  liundreds  of  years 
witli  the  greatest  care  and  held  sacred  by  the  natives. 
Such  a  wholesale  destruction  would  have  been  an  impossi- 
bihty.  AVe  could  refer  to  a  similar  occurrence  tliat  took 
place  in  Mexico  ;  and  though  Bisliop  Zumarraga  has  the 
bad  reputation  of  having  destroyed  all  the  picture  treasures 
of  the  Nahuatls  by  an  auto-da-fe^  there  were  notwitlistanding 
so  many  of  them  in  existence  soon  after  his  time  in  the 
possession  of  native  families  that  Ixtlilxochitl,  Tezozomoc, 
and  otliers,  were  able  to  build  up  tlieir  detailed  accounts  of  the 
primitive  history  of  their  countr}'  from  these  original  sources. 
Possibly  numbers  of  them  may  have  been  preserved  among 
the  Maya  tribes,  for  only  under  such  favorable  conditions 
could   Cogolludo,   Villagutierre    and  Lizana  have   obtained 


*Ilistoria  dc  Yucatan,  Eligio  Ancoiia,  Morida,  1879,  Vol.  II.,  page  78. 


59 

the  valuable  information  and  material  which  form  tlie  chief 
interest  of  their  labors  and  researches,  and  whicli  enabled 
also  Pio  Perez  in  the  year  1835,  to  discover  material  from 
wliich  to  interpret  so  complete  a  description  of  tiie  system 
of  Maya  chronology.  Nay,  even,  we  have  a  snspicion  that 
Bishop  Landa  ma}^  have  laid  aside  the  most  important  part 
of  these  records,  or  what  was  the  most  intelligible  to  him, 
for  we  cannot  comprehend  how  he  would  have  been  able 
without  tiiese  pictures  before  his  eyes  to  present  in  his  work 
the  symbols  for  the  days  so  correctly,  and  also  those  for  the 
months,  or  how  otherwise  he  could  have  written  his  work 
in  Spain,  so  far  removed  from  all  sources  of  information 
and  from  consultation  with  the  natives. 

No  reason,  therefore,  exists  why  the  Maya  author 
should  not  have  remained  in  possession  of  some  paint- 
ing, which  exhibited  the  annals  of  his  forefathers.  If, 
however,  he  was  compelled  to  write  his  "  Series  of 
Katunes  "  from  memory,  there  is  no  reason  for  not  relying 
on  the  accuracy  of  his  retentive  faculties  alone.  The 
noljle  Indians,  and  he  belonged  undoubtedly  to  this 
class,  were  verj-  particular  in  training  their  sons  to  learn  by 
heart  songs  expressing  tlie  glorious  deeds  of  their  ancestors. 
It  is  a  fact  attested  by  the  Spanish  chroniclers,  that  these 
songs  were  recited  publicly  in  tlie  temples  and  on  solemn 
religious  occasions.  They  were  the  only  kind  of  positive 
knowledge  with  which  we  know  the  brains  of  the  Indian 
pupils  were  burdened.  In  either  case,  therefore,  the 
accuracy  of  the  written  Maya  report  needs  not  be  doubted, 
at  least  not  on  the  grounds  alleged.  Had  it  been  composed 
in  the  Spanisli  language  instead  of  Maya,  we  should  have 
viewed  this  circumstance  with  a  more  critical  eye.  But  as 
the  native  under  Spanish  rule  expressed  it  in  his  native  lan- 
guage, this  kind  of  loyalty  appears  to  us  to  give  a  certain 
warranty  of  dealing  with  a  man  who  described  the  tradi- 
tions of  his  oppressed  race,  and  who  wished  to  perpetuate  its 
memory  by  handing  down  to  posterity  the  principal  events 
of  tlie  past  history  of  his  nation. 


GO 

At  this  place,  we  should  not  like  to  omit  pointing  ont 
an  interesting  suggestion  which  the  clear  lieaded  and 
sagacious  autlior,  Seiior  Eligio  Ancona*  made  in  his  hefore 
mentioned  work,  that  Bishop  Landa  and  the  autlior  of  the 
Manuscript  agree  so  often  in  their  mention  of  historic  dates, 
in  tlie  manner  as  well  as  the  matter,  as  to  lead  to  the  idea  that 
hoth  drew  their  information  from  the  same  source.  What- 
ever be  its  origin,  we  agree  with  tlie  views  of  Senor  Perez, 
tliat,  in  spite  of  the  deficiency  and  lireaks  occurring  in  the 
Manuscript,  it  deserves  critical  attention  as  the  only  docu- 
ment thus  far  discovered  that  gives  information  of  the  early 
history  of  Yucatan. 


Elements  of  Maya  Chronology. 

It  is  impossible  to  understand  tlie  Manuscript  before 
obtaining  a  knowledge  of  tlie  division  of  time  prevalent  in 
Yucatan  l)efore  the  Spanish  Conquest.  Senor  Perez  has 
the  incontestable  merit  of  having  been  the  first  to  lay 
before  the  world  not  only  the  chief  points  of  the  system 
but  also  all  the  technical  details.  Before  his  time  but  little 
was  known  of  Maya  chronology.  From  the  great  historic 
works  of  Torquemada,  Herrera  and  Cogolludo,  we  learn 
only  that  the  Mayas,  in  conformity  with  the  Mexicans, 
held  that  the  solar  year  was  composed  of  360  days,  and 
when  these  were  passed  they  added  5  days  more  as  a  correc- 
tion. We  are  told  that  both  nations  divided  their  years 
into  18  months,  and  their  months  into  twent}'  days  each. 
As  to  the  longer  periods  of  time,  however,  we  hear  of 
certain  differences.     While   the   Mexicans  had  an  epoch  of 


*IIistoria  de  Yucatan,  Eligio  Aucona,  Merida,  1879,  Vol.  I.,  page 
156.  "Landa  in  Rela9i(ni  de  las  cosas  de  Yucatan,  §  viii.,  also  speaks  of  the 
tranquillity  and  good  harmony  which  reigned  among  the  chiefs  of  those 
cities,  and  we  notice  that  concerning  the  epochs  referred  to,  his  report 
is  in  accordance,  in  many  details,  with  that  of  the  anonymous  author 
of  the  'Maya  Epochs.' " 


61 

52  years  which  they  divided  into  4  smaller  periods,  the  bo 
called  TlapiUl,  eacli  of  13  years,  the  Mayas  counted  a  great 
epoch  of  2G0  years,  the  so  called  Ahau  Katun,  subdivided 
into  13  smaller  periods  each  of  20  years,  M'ith  the  simple 
name  Ahau.  This  period  of  20  years  was  according  to 
Cogolhido*  subdivided  again  into  wliat  he  calls  lustra  of 
5  years  each,  but  he  does  not  give  the  native  name  of  this 
division. 


*  Diego  Lopez  de  CogoHudo,  Historia  de  Yuacathan.  Madrid,  1683, 
Lib.  IV.,  Cap.  5.  "  The  count  they  kept  in  their  books  was  by  20  to 
20  years,  and  also  by  lustros  of  4  to  4  years.  When  five  of  these  lustros 
had  passed,  or  twenty  years  elapsed,  they  called  this  time  Katun,  and 
set  one  hewn  stone  (piedra  labrada)  upon  another,  well  cemented  by 
lime  and  sand.  This  can  be  noticed  in  their  temples  and  ecclesiastical 
buildings,  and  especially  on  some  ancient  walls  of  our  convent  in 
Merida,  upon  which  the  cells  have  been  built." 

The  expression  Katun,  mentioned  in  this  passage,  and  to  which  we 
have  assigned  a  place  in  our  title,  requires  a  few  words  of  explanation. 
As  far  as  we  know,  it  occurs  only  three  times  in  our  Central  American 
authors ;  in  Cogolludo,  Landa,  and  in  our  manuscript.  The  first  gives 
Katun  the  meaning  of  a  period  of  twenty  years.  The  second  (§  XLI.), 
uses  the  following  phraseology  :  "  Contando  XIII.  veyntes  con  una  de 
las  XX.  letras  de  los  meses  que  llanian  Ahau,  sin  orden,  sino  retrue- 
candolos  como  pareceran  en  las  siguiente  raya  redonda,  llaman  les  a  estos 
en  su  lengua  Katunes."  This  phraseology  is  somewhat  obscure,  never- 
theless it  will  be  admitted  that  his  intention  was  to  state  that  each  of 
the  images  of  the  thirteen  Ahaues,  depicted  on  the  surface  of  the  wheel, 
represented  twenty  years,  this  being  a  period  which  they  also  called 
Katunes.  We  arrive  at  this  definite  conclusion  by  the  consideration 
that  if  Landa  says  that  the  period  of  twenty  years  was  called  Ahau,  and 
another  one,  that  of  260  years,  Katun,  he  would  have  stated  the  latter 
fact  in  expressive  words;  the  occasion  for  doing  so  being  too  urgent  to 
let  it  pass.  The  third  author  uses  the  word  Katun  in  his  introductory 
lines,  without  giving  it  any  numerical  value.  But  it  will  be  noticed 
that  in  the  text  which  follows,  the  expression  Katun  is  used  inter- 
changeably with  that  of  Ahau  for  a  period  of  20  years.  This  concord- 
ance of  the  three  authors  allows  us  to  conclude  that  whenever  the  word 
iTafMn  is  employed,  the  short  period  of  20  years  was  meant.  In  this 
connection  a  question  arises  :  How  is  it  that  no  author  has  made  men- 
tion of  the  long  period  of  260  years,  with  which  we  become  acquainted 
in  Senor  Perez's  chronological  essay.  It  is  probable  he  found  it  men- 
tioned in  some  Maya  manuscripts  in  which  this  long  period  appeared 
uuder  the  name  of  Ahau  Katun.  Though  this  fact  of  itself  maybe  con- 
9 


G2 

The  discovery  of  the  Mannscript,  no  donbt,  indnced 
Senor  Perez  to  make  a  systematic  and  detailed  sketch  of 
the  early  native  chronolgy  of  his  conntry.  We  shall  men- 
tion only  the  most  interesting  and  important  of  his  details 
and  refer  the  reader  for  the  rest  to  Stephens'  work  already 
mentioned.  The  names  of  the  20  days  in  the  month  are  as 
follows : — 


1  Kan. 

2  Chicclian. 

3  Quimij. 

4  Maiiik. 

5  Lamut. 


6  Muluc. 

7  Oc. 

8  Chuen. 

9  Eb. 
10  Been, 


11  Gix. 

12  Men. 

13  Qnib. 
H4  Caban. 
^15  Edznab. 


^16  Cavac. 
"17  Ahau. 
^18  Ymix. 
«19  Yx. 

"20  Akbal. 


sidered  of  no  importance,  still,  as  it  would  bring  to  light  another  of  the 
many  numerical  combinations  (13X20=260)  in  which  those  people  in- 
dulged, with  the  fundamental  figures  of  their  calendar  s5-steni,  we 
must  feel  a  great  interest  in  the  asserted  fact,  hoping  it  will  turn 
out  to  be  a  correct  statement.  Our  researches  have  been  directed  for  a 
long  time  towards  the  discovery  of  the  symbols  which  the  Maya  an- 
nalists or  sculptors  would  have  employed  for  their  chronological  periods. 
It  was  in  connection  with  these  studies  that  we  discovered  the 
Nahuatl  symbols  for  the  same,  of  which  we  gave  account  in  our  discussion 
on  the  Calendar  Stone.  Yet  while  this  discovery  only  corroborates  the 
suspicion  long  entertained  that  a  certain  set  of  Maya  symbols  repre- 
sented the  lustra  of  5,  and  another  the  period  of  20  years,  we  have 
not  yet  been  able  to  recognize  a  Maya  symbol  for  the  period  of  2G0 
years. 

The  word  Katun  is  a  compound  of  Kat,  to  ask,  to  consult,  and  tun, 
stone;  hence  the  stone,  which  when  asked,  gives  account.  Thus  it  was 
also  understood  by  Cogolludo,  who,  when  mentioning  the  word  Katun 
(see  above),  was  referring  to  the  square  stones  incrusted  into  walls, 
upon  which  the  convent  was  built.  What  traditions  he  followed  in  this 
is  still  better  illustrated  by  the  words  in  continuation  of  this  passage : 
'*  In  a  place  called  Tixualahtiin,  which  means  a  spot  where  one  hewn 
stone  is  set  upon  another  one,  the  Archives  of  the  Indians  are  said  to 
have  existed,  to  which  they  resorted  for  all  questions  of  historical 
interest  (recurso  dc  todos  los  acaecimientos),  as  we  should  do  to 
Simancas,  in  Spain."  The  stone  columns  found  on  the  spot  named, 
can  be  seen  pictured  in  J.  L.  Stephens'  Incidents  of  travel  in  Yucatan, 
Vol.  II.,  page  318. 


03 

The  18  inontlis  wore  us  follows  : — 

1  Pop  (Kith  of  July.)  10  Yaax  (12tli  of  January). 

2  Uoo  (5tli  of  August).  11  Zac  (1st  of  February). 

3  Zip  (2.5lh  of  August).  12  Quej  (21st  of  February). 

4  Zodz  (14th  of  September.  13  Mac  (13th  of  March). 

5  Zeec  (4th  of  October).  14  Kankiu  (2(1  of  April). 

6  Xul  (24th  of  October).  15  Moan  (22d  of  April). 

7  Dze-yaxidn  (13thofNovember).  16  Pax  (12th  of  May). 

8  Mol  (3d  of  December).  17  Kayab  (1st  of  June). 

9  Dcheu  (23(1  of  December).  18  Cum]v('i  (21st  of  June. 

As  the  table  sliows  tlioir  year  hesjan  witli  tlie  first  day  of 
tlie  moiitli  Pop,  which  correspoiuled  to  the  16tli  of  July  in  onr 
calendar,  when,  as  Sefior  Perez  observes,  tlie  sun  was  almost 
vertical  over  the  Peninsula.  The  day  itself  was  called 
Kin,  8un,  the  mouth  U,  Moon,  and  the  5  intercalary  days 
were  called  nameless   days,  Xona-Kaha-Kin,  not-namo-Sun, 

In  the  arrangement  of  their  yearly  calendar  the  Mayas 
proceeded  as  follows :  Like  the  Mexicans  they  used  a  com- 
bination of  the  numbers  1  to  13,  with  the  names  of  the  20 
days  of  the  month.  They  called  the  first  day  of  the  u.ionth 
Pop  (our  16  July)  1  Kan,  the  second  2  Chicehan,  the  tliird 
3  Quimij,  and  so  on.  The  fourteenth  day  was  called  1 
Caban,  the  fifteenth  2  Edznab,  and  the  last  or  twentieth  day 
7  Akbal.  The  first  day  of  the  second  month  followed  in 
correct  numerical  sequence  with  the  name  8  Kan,  the  second 
with  the  name  9  Clii(;chan.  Thus  repeating  the  20  names  of 
the  days  with  the  above  coiubi nation  of  numbers  from  1  to 
13  they  reached  the  360tli  day  with  the  mime  9  Akbal. 
Then  followed  the  intercalary  week  of  5  daj's  bearing  the 
names  10  Kan,  11  Chicchan,  12  Cimij,  13  Manik,  and  1 
Lamat. 

The  second  year  begins  with  2  Muluc.  In  the  same  man- 
ner going  on  with  the  combination  the  first  day  of  the  third 
year  was  3  Ilix,  then  followed  4  Cavac,  9  Kan,  10  Muluc,  11 
Hix,  12  Cavac,  13  Kan,  1  Muluc,  2  Hix,  and  so  on.  At  the 
end  of  the  52d  year  the  above-mentioned  comlünation  was  ex- 


64 

hausted,   for   the  53d    year  began    again   with  the   day   1 
Kan. 


e« 

ä  6 
o  o 

N  N 

0) 

N 

'S 

03 
>-> 

a> 

d 

o  'S 

Yaax. 
Zac. 

'a?  ci 

Kankin. 

Moan. 

Pax. 

t  a 

Ol   3 

Names  of  the 

Days. 

1  2 

3  4 

5 

6 

7 

8   9 

10  11 

12  13 

14  15  16 

17  18 

Kan, 

1   8 

2  9 

3 

10 

4 

11  5 

12  6 

13  7 

1  8  2 

9  3 

Chicchau, 

2  9 

3  10 

4 

11 

5 

12  6 

13  7 

1  8 

2  9  3 

10  4 

Quimij, 

3  10 

4  11 

5 

12 

6 

13  7 

1  8 

2  9 

3  10  4 

11  5 

Manik, 

4  11 

5  12 

6 

13 

7 

1  8 

2  9 

3  10 

4  11  5 

12  6 

Lam  at. 

5  12 

6  13 

7 

1 

8 

2  9 

3  10 

4  11 

5  12  6 

13  7 

Muluc, 

6  13 

7  1 

8 

2 

9 

3  10 

4  11 

5  12 

6  13  7 

1  8 

Oc, 

7  1 

8  2 

9 

3 

10 

4  11 

6  12 

6  13 

7  1  8 

2  9 

Chuen, 

8  2 

9  3 

10 

4 

11 

5  12 

6  ]3 

7  1 

8  2  9 

3  10 

Eb, 

9  3 

10  4 

11 

5 

12 

(5  13 

7  1 

8  2 

9  3  10 

4  11 

Been, 

10  4 

11  5 

12 

6 

13 

7  1 

8  2 

9  3 

10  4  11 

5  12 

Oix, 

11  .f; 

12  6 

13 

7 

1 

8  2 

9  3 

10  4 

11  5  12 

6  13 

Men, 

12  6 

13  7 

1 

8 

2 

9  3 

10  4 

11  5 

12  6  13 

7  1 

Quib, 

13  7 

1  8 

2 

9 

3 

10  4 

11  5 

12  6 

13  7  1 

8  2 

Caban, 

1  8 

2  9 

3 

10 

4 

11  5 

12  6 

13  7 

1  8  2 

9  3 

Edznab, 

2  9 

3  10 

4 

11 

5 

12  6 

13  7 

1  8 

2  9  3 

10  4 

Cavac, 

3  10 

4  11 

5 

12 

6 

13  7 

1  8 

2  9 

3  10  4 

11  5 

Ahau, 

4  11 

5  12 

6 

13 

7 

1  8 

2  9 

3  10 

4  11  5 

12  6 

Ymix, 

5  12 

6  13 

7 

1 

8 

2  9 

3  10 

4  11 

5  12  6 

13  7 

Yk, 

6  13 

7  1 

8 

2 

9 

3  10 

4  11 

5  12 

6  13  7 

1  8 

Akbal, 

7  1 

8  2 

9 

3 

10 

4  11 

5  12 

6  13 

7  1  8 

2  9 

The  following  year  must  begin  with  2  Muluc. 


^^fKan.   .    . 
g  ^  I  Chicclian 
^  o  -{  Quimij     . 
o  -Q  I  Manik 
[3^^  [Lamat 


10 
11 
12 
13 
1 


It  is  to  be  observed  here  that  this  arrangement  of  a 
calendar  of  epochs  agrees  with  that  in  use  in  the  interior  of 
Mexico.  There,  tlie  numbers  from  1  to  13  were  combined 
with  four  names,  Tecpatl,  Calli,  Tochtli  and  Acatl,  which 
they  had  taken,  like  the  Mayas,  from  the  names  for  the  20 
days  of  the  month  ;  and  both  calendars  represent  the  first 
days  of  their  weeks  of  five  days  as  occurring  upon  the  Ist, 
6th,  11th  and  ICth  days  of  the  month.     From  this  system 


65 

Senor  Perez  arrives  at  the  division  into  great  epochs  of  52 
years  used  in  Mexico  as  well  as  in  Yucatan.  This  statement 
appears  hazardous  in  the  highest  degree  when  compared 
with  the  statements  made  by  the  before-mentioned  authori- 
ties. They  claim  for  Yucatan  an  epoch  of  20  and  260  years 
respectively  ;  and  Landa,  who  wrote  with  the  first  impres- 
sions of  the  concpiest  still  fresh  in  his  mind,  and  whose 
information  came  directly  from  the  natives  themselves, 
agrees  with  them.  Witliout  doubt  Senor  Perez  must  have 
been  aware  of  this  contradiction.  After  he  had  developed 
in  §  7  the  so-called  epoch  of  the  Mayas  of  52  years  he 
makes  us  acquainted  with  this  national  Maya  epoch,  though, 
as  we  shall  presently  learn,  he  disagrees  with  the  Maya 
writers  as  to  the  time  of  its  duration.  His  statement  is  :  §  8. 
"  The  Yucatecans,  besides  the  great  cycle  of  52  years, 
employed  still  another  great  cycle,  which  had  refer- 
ence to  certain  portions  of  it,  in  order  to  date  the  main 
epoch,  and  the  most  notable  events  of  their  history.  Each 
of  these  cycles  contained  13  periods,  of  24  years  each,  mak- 
ing together  312  years.  Each  period,  or  Ahaxi-Katun  was 
divided  into  two  parts.  The  first  of  these  parts  of  20  years 
was  enclosed  in  a  square  {sic^^  and  was  called  on  that  ac- 
count aniaytun,  lamayte  or  lamaytun.  The  second  part 
of  4  years  formed,  so  to  speak,  a  pedestal  for  the  first  part, 
and  was  called  chek  oc  Katun,  or  lath  oc  Katun,  which 
signifies  a  chair  or  pedestal.  These  years  were  considered 
intercalary,  and  were  held  to  be  unlucky  years.  They  were 
called  u  yail  Juab,  and  the  same  was  the  case  wnth  the  5 
intercalary  days  to  which  they  corresponded.  The  separa- 
tion of  the  20  years  from  the  following  4  years  gave  rise  to 
the  erroneous  idea  that  the  Ahaues  consisted  of  twenty 
years  only,  an  error  which  has  prevailed  almost  universally 
among  those  who  have  written  upon  this  subject.  But  if 
they  had  counted  the  years  which  compose  a  period,  and 
had  taken  notice  of  the  positive  declarations  of  the  manu- 
script to  the  effect  that   the  Ahanes  consisted  of  24  years 


6G 

divided  as  above  stated,  they  would  not  have  misled  their 
readers  on  tliis  point." 

Senor  Perez  continues: — 

"  It  is  an  incontrovertil)le  fact  that  those  Maya  periods, 
epochs  or  ages,  took  their  name  from  Ahau  Katun,  iov  they 
becrau  to  be  counted  from  the  day  which  bore  tlie  name 
Ahau,  the  second  day  of  those  years,  wliich  began  with  tlie 
name  Cavac.  But  as  these  days  and  numbers  were  taken 
from  years  which  had  run  their  course,  the  periods  of  24 
years  could  never  maintain  an  arithmetical  order,  but  suc- 
ceeded each  other  according  to  the  following  arrangement 
of  numbers  :  13,  11,  9,  7,  5,  3,  1,  12,  10,  8,  6,  4,  2.  As  the 
Indians  considered  the  number  13  the  initial  number,  it  is 
probable  that  some  remarkable  event  liad  liappened  in  that 
year,  because,  when  the  Spaniards  arrived  in  the  Peninsula, 
the  Indians  then  counted  the  8th  as  the  1st,  that  being  the 
date  at  which  their  ancestors  came  to  settle  there  ;  and  an 
Indian  writer  proposed  that  they  should  abandon  that  order 
also,  and  begin  counting  from  the  11th,  solely  because  the 
Conquest  liad  happened  in  that  Ahau.  Now,  if  the  13th 
Ahau  Katun  began  on  a  second  day  of  the  year,  it  must  be 
that  year  which  began  on  12  Cavac,  and  the  12tli  of  the 
series.  The  11th  Ahau  would  commence  in  the  year  of  10 
Cavac,  which  occurred  after  a  period  of  24  years,  and  so  on 
with  the  rest ;  taking  notice  that  after  the  lapse  of  years  we 
come  to  the  respective  number  marked  in  the  course  of  the 
Ahaues  which  is  placed  hrst ;  proving  that  they  consisted  of 
24,  and  not,  as  some  have  believed,  of  20  years." 

From  the  lieading  (§8),  '' Of  the  Great  Cycle  o/ 312 
years,  or  Ahau  Katunes^''  as  well  as  of  the  text  just  quoted, 
it  is  apparent  that  Senor  Perez  intended  to  establish  the 
fact  that  the  ancient  Maya  cycles  were  composed  of  24  and 
312  years  respectively.  lie  does  so  in  manifest  contra- 
diction to  the  prevalent  opinion  that  they  consisted  of  20 
and  260  years.  We  do  not  understand  the  reasons  wliy 
he    sliould    liave    come    to    this  conclusion.       It    grew    out 


67 

neitlier  from  the  facts  alleged  nor  from  the  eonneetioii  into 
which  he  wove  them   together.     The   peculiar   circumstance 
of  having,  in  his   commentary  referenc^es,  four  years  inter- 
calated in  succession  to  the  usual  cycle  of  twenty  years,  and 
included  in  a  square,  to  serve  as  a  '•'•  2)edestal  "  to  the  former, 
is  not  capahle  of  shedding  new  light  upon  the  question  and 
causing  us  to  distrust  authorities  on  which  we  were  accustomed 
to  rely.  The  other  reason,  which  stands  second  in  his  order  of 
forming  premises  for  his  conclusion,  is  said  to  be  the  undeni- 
able fact,  that  those  periods  took  their  name  oi  Ahau  Katun, 
because  they  began  to  be  counted  from  the  day  Ahau,  which 
was   the   second    day  of   those  years   that    began   in    Cavac. 
Of  this  uncontrovertible  fact  tiie  readers  are  not  elsewhere 
informed.     The  information,  however,  which  we  are  able  to 
give  is  that  according  to  all  we  have   been  able  to  gather  on 
the  Maya  Calendar,  a  period,  or  a  single  year,  commencing 
with  a  day  named    Ahau,  has  never  existed  in  their  system 
of  counting.     They  always   commenced    it   with   the   words 
Kan,  Muluc,  Ilix,  Cavac.     If  there  existed  any  exceptional 
ground  for  changing  an   old   established   method  of  dating, 
the  reason  should  have  been   stated,  for  it  is  preposterous  to 
assume  that  the   first  day  of  a  great  cyclical   period  should 
have  taken  its  name  from  any  other  day  of  the  year's  calen- 
dar than  from  the  four  above  named.     Nor  do  we  under- 
stand the  reason  wh}',  just  here,  the   topic  of  the  succession 
of  the   numbers  13,  11,  9,  7,  5,  3,  1,  12,  10,  8,  6,  4,  2,  was 
introduced.     Could  it  have  been  with  the  intention  of  show- 
ing  that  this  singular  enumeration   of  alternating  Ahaues, 
which  we   shall  hereafter  speak  of,  occurred  only  in  cycles 
of  24  years,  and   that  therefrom  a  proof  might   be  derived 
for  establishing  the  pretended  cycle  of  24  and  312  years? 
Evidence  of  this  should  have  been  given  by  a  table  showing 
the  series,   and   by  still   another    table   in    which  should  be 
shown  that  such   an  alternating   succession    did  not  occur  in 
cycles  composed   of  20  years.     Not  one  single  fact  can  be 


68 

detected  in  Senor  Perez's  text,  by  which  the  long  estab- 
lished assumption  of  a  20  years'  cycle  has  been  disproved. 

Nevertheless,  the  data  which  we  possess  of  the  ancient 
Maya  Calendar  are  not  so  complete  as  to  disprove  emphati- 
cally that  a  cycle  of  24  and  312  years  respectively  was 
never  used  by  the  Maya  chronologers. 

Without  doubt,  Yucatan  owed  its  ancient  greatness  to  the 
success  of  uniting  a  rude  and  scattered  population  around  a 
number  of  theocratical  centres,  where  similar  forms  of 
worship  were  maintained.  Though  the  ancient  records  are 
wanting,  this  feature  of  the  Maya  system  stands  out  upon 
the  background  of  dim  traditions  with  great  distinctness. 
After  this  concentration  of  tribes,  and  with  the  view  of 
regulating  worship,  a  uniform  calendar  would  have  been 
introduced,  the  main  features  of  which  would  probably  have 
been  a  solar  year  of  365  days,  the  division  of  the  year  into 
20  months,  and  a  cyclical  period  of  20  and  260  years  respec- 
tively. In  the  middle  of  the  11th  century  great  tribal 
revolutions  took  place  on  the  high  plateaus  of  Anahuac, 
by  which  the  lowlands  of  Yucatan  were  also  affected.  An 
adventurous  tribe  of  the  Nahuatl  stock  possessed  itself  of 
one  of  the  principal  towns  of  Yucatan  and  established  its 
influence  and  power.  Mayapan  became  the  centre  of 
Nahuatl  worship.  The  calendar  the  invaders  brought 
with  them  must  have  been  the  old  honored  division  of  the 
years  into  365  days,  with  20  months,  and  their  cyclical 
period  of  not  20  but  52  years,  and  it  is  also  known  that  about 
the  year  1450,  the  political  union  of  the  Mayas  was  broken 
into  several  smaller  divisions,  some  of  which  presumably 
would  have  held  to  the  ancient  cycle  of  20  years ;  others 
may  have  adopted  the  Nahuatl  cycle  of  52  years,  and  possi- 
bly, may  have  introduced  the  cycle  of  24  years  spoken  of  by 
Scfior  Perez.  Political  schism  was  likely  to  have  generated 
also  a  hierarchical  one,  and  each  newly  formed  body  of 
])riests,  in  wliose  hands  the  custody  and  composition  of  annals 
foil,  would  have  sought  to  distinguisli  themselves  from  their 


GO 

predecessors  \)y  innovatiDiis,  if  only  of  a.  fcjrmal  cliaraeter. 
Sucli  changes  we  also  observe  among  the  Nahnatls  in 
Analmac.  The  pei-iod  of  52  years,  however,  seems  to  have 
constantly  prevailed  among  them,  and  also  the  divisions  of 
the  365  days  into  18  months  of  20  days  eacli. 

We  tind,  for  instance,  that  one  of  the  Nahnatl  tribes 
begins  its  annals  with  December  9,  another  selects 
December  26,  another  January  9,  and  others  January  12, 
February  4,  and  February  22.  We  also  know  that  a 
ditfcix'nt  cahnilation  prevailed  auiong  these  tribes  in  l)egiu- 
ning  their  annals.  The  State  of  Colhuacan  began  its 
chronology  with  a  year  1  Culli,  the  State  of  Mexico  with 
2  Acatl,  others  with  1  Tochtli,  and  seemingly  the  most 
ancient  calculation  began  with  the  year  1  Tecpatl.  Thus 
we  have  a  historical  basis  for  our  assertion  that  the  Nahuatl 
as  well  as  the  Maya  tribes  did  not  conform  to  a  uniform 
rule  in  beginning  their  first  3''car's  date,  in  their  chrono- 
logical ei)Ochs,  or  in  the  divi&ion  of  their  cyclical  epochs. 

In  spite  of  this  diversity,  so  })erplexing  to  modern  chrono- 
logists,  the  Aztecs  and  the  Mayas  were  both  governed  by 
the  same  general  principle  in  arranging  their  calendars. 
Both  nations  recognized  the  fact  that  in  the  past  their  solar 
year  had  numbered  only  360  days ;  and  they  preserved  iu 
the  words  nemotemi  and  xona-kaba-kin,  the  remembrance 
of  a  not  to  be  forgotten  eflbrt  exerted  by  their  ancestors  to 
correct  the  primordial  solar  year  of  360  days  into  one  of  365 
days.  Both  nations  conscientiously  kept  on  dividing  the  year 
into  IS  months,  and  each  of  the  months  into  20  days,  and 
with  both  the  number  13  returns  as  a  basis  governing  the 
calendar  of  years  as  well  as  that  of  periods.* 

We  notice,  moreover,  that  both  nations  omit  to  count  the 
20  days  of  the  month  in   the  succession  of  the  figures  1—20, 


*  Senor  Orozco  y  Berra,  the  learned  and  laborious  author  of  the  "Carta 
ethno<iraüca  de   Mexico,  Mexico,    18G4,"  has  made  tliis  matter  a  sub- 
ject of  special  investigatiou  in  "Auales  del  Museo  Nacioual  de  Mexico," 
1879,  Tom.  I.,  Eiitrega  7,  page  305. 
10 


70 

but  after  the  thirteenth  clay  tliey  again  begin  with  the  num- 
ber 1,  and  the  20th  day  therefore  was  figured  with  the 
number  7,  and  also  that  the  Mexicans  counted  their  smallest 
period  witli  13  years,  the  so-called  ihipilli,  und  upon  its 
quadruple  the  cycle  of  52  years  was  based.  The  lesser 
Maya  or  Ahau  period  is  20  years,  while  the  greater  or 
Ahaxi  Katun  is  260  years  or  13  times  the  smaller.  Senor 
Perez's  lesser  period  of  24,  and  the  greater  one  of  312 
years  show  the  same  method  and  calculation  (13X24:=312). 

This  conformity  between  the  early  calendars  of  Central 
America  should  not  escape  the  observation  of  the  future 
historical  enquirer.  He  will  be  compelled  to  adopt  a 
very  remote  period  of  time  when  both  nations,  differing 
so  entirely  in  their  language,  dwelt  in  peace,  connected 
by  the  strong  bands  of  a  hierarchical  power.  One  of  these  two 
nations,  it  is  clear,  must  have  invented  it.  Hence  the 
question  arises,  was  it  original  with  the  immigrating 
Nahuatl  tribes  who  came  from  the  higher  northern  coun- 
tries as  is  reported,  and  did  they  succeed  in  forming 
such  a  consolidation  with  the  Maya  races  as  to  mingle  both 
under  the  same  hierarchical  government,  or  did  the  contrary 
take  place  ?  The  most  prevalent  opinion  makes  the  Nahuas 
the  inventors  of  the  general  system  of  chronology,  but  later 
students  begin  to  express  tliemselves  in  favor  of  its  Maya 
origin.  On  a  more  fitting  occasion  we  are  desirous  to 
present  our  reasons  for  taking  the  latter  view. 

Before  passing  from  these  chronological  speculations  to 
the  discussion  of  the  Maya  Manuscript,  we  wish  to  state 
briefly  our  idea  of  the  origin  of  the  system  of  reckoning 
by  alternating  Ahaues.  [See  page  ^Q^^.  We  promised  to 
return  to  this  subject,  and  shall  now  endeavor  to  give 
a  solution  to  this  chronological  problem  diflf'oring  from 
that  of  Senor  Perez.  A  ])assage  in  Bishop  Landa's  work, 
determined  our  decision.  After  a  previous  and  positive 
assertion  that  the  lesser  Ahau  period  consisted  of  20  years, 
Landa  continues,   ....     "  The  order  in    which  they  com- 


71 

piited  their  dates  and  made  their  prophecies  by  the  aid  of  tliia 
computation  (of  20  years)  was  arrived  at  by  havin»^  two 
idols,  dedicated  to  two  of  these  characters  (Ahaues).  To 
the  first  idol,  which  stands  with  a  cross  marked  above  the 
circle,  thc}^  ])aid  homage  by  making  him  offerings  and  sacri- 
fices, in  order  to  obtain  an  immunity  from  the  calamities  to 
come  in  these  20  years,  but  after  ten  of  these  years  had  passed 
they  offered  nothing  i)ut  in(;ense  and  worship.  When  the 
twenty  years   of  the  first   were  fully  passed  they  began  to 


A HAU    KATUN. 

[Above  we  jrive  a  reproduction  of  a  Maya  Ahau  Katun  wheel  taken 
from  that  in  Landa's  "  Las  cosas  de  Yucatan,"  §  XL.,  in  order  that  his 
explanation  may  be  understood]. 


occupy  themselves  with  the  presages  of  their  second  idol  and 
to  offer  sacrifices  to  him,  having  taken  away  their  first  idol  to 
replace  it  l)y  the  second,  in  order  to  worship  it  in  the  coming 
ten  years."* 

"  Tlie  Indians  say,  for  example,  tliat  the  Spaniards  arrived 
at  the  City  of  Merida  in  tlie  year  of  tlie  nativity  of  onr  Lord 
and  Master  1541,  which  was  precisely  the  first  year  of  Bnluc 
Ahau  (11  Ahan),  the  same  that  we  find  jdaced  at  the  top  of 
the  instrumentf  below  the  cross,  and  which  also  indicates  that 
they  arrived  in  the  month  Poj^,  which  is  the  first  in  their  year. 
Had  the  Spaniards  not  come  as  they  did,  then  they  would 
have  placed  the  Idol  of  Bolon  Ahau  (9  Ahan),  (»ffering 
homage  to  it,  and  contiiniing  to  refer  to  tlie  prognostics  of 
Jiiduc  Ahau,  till  the  year  1561;  and  then  they  would  take 
it  from  the  temple  and  put  in  its  place  that  of  Yuc  Ahau 
(7  Ahau),  all  the  while  continuing  to  refer  to  the  prognos- 
tics of  Buluc  Ahau,  for  ten  }ears  more,  and  the  same  with 
the  others  until  the  tour  was  made.  In  this  way  they  made 
up  tlieir  Katnns  of  twenty  and  ten  years,  worshi])ping  them 
according  to  their  superstitions  and  juggleries,  which  were  in 
such  great  nuujbers  that  there  were  more  than  enough  to 
deceive  that  simple  people,  and  there  is  reason  for  aston- 
isliment  when  one  knows  what  kind  of  things  in  nature  and 
experience  belong  to  the  Demon." 

Whoever  is  acquainted  with  the  awkwardness  and  literary 
negligence  of  Landa's  writing  will  not  be  astonished  that  in 


*Las  cosas  de  Yncatnn.  Diego  de  Landa.  Edition  B.  deBourboiirg. 
Paris,  1804.     Page  315,  §  XL. 

t  A  specimen  of  such  an  instrument  with  a  surface  inscribed  as  the 
cut  shows  would  liardiy  have  been  preserved.  We  think  that  the  box  en- 
closed around  disk  turning  on  a  pivot;  this  contrivance,  evidently 
served  as  an  aid  to  the  memory  in  enumerating  the  alternating  Ahaues. 
To-day,  we  should  obtain  the  same  result  by  writing  the  Ahaues  in  a 
horizontal  or  vertical  line,  but  the  Nahuatls  and  Mayas,  having  solely  a 
symbolical  or  pictorial  manner  of  representation,  made  use  of  this  ingeni- 
ous arrangement  by  painting  the  series  of  the  Ahaues  on  the  circum- 
ference of  a  circle.  Thus  the  idea  of  an  uninterrupted  sequence  of  time 
and  the  connection  of  the  2d  Ahau  with  the  13lh  were  brouL'ht  to  notice. 


73 

liis  statement  he  left  out  sometliiu^  whieh  a  more  eareful 
writer  wuuld  have  expressed,  and  [)hi(;ed  at  the  liead  of  his 
exphuiation.  The  wantino-  statement,  liovvever,  ean  be  snp- 
jdied.  It  will  he  noticed  that  Landa  in  his  text  oidy  refers  to 
two  Ahau  Idols  worshipped  in  the  temple.  But  this  nnmher 
must  have  been  13,  as  is  evident  from  the  3d  Idol  Vuc 
A/iau,  mentioned  afterwards  in  the  statement  with  which  he 
finished  ]»is  description,  in  order  not  to  always  repeat  the  same 
thing  of  the  ten  other  idols  which  are  i)ainted  on  the  wheel. 
J>et  us  then  take  the  statement  of  Landa  supplemented  by 
what  we  have  said  above  as  to  the  questionable  nomencla- 
ture of  these  Ahanes  as  tliey  a])pear  in  the  row  of  nunibei'S 
13,  11,  9,  7,  5,  3,  1,  12,  10,  8,  6,  4,  2.  Landa's  description 
gives  us  to  understand  tliat  the  lapse  of  twenty  years  was 
always  required  before  the  new  combination  of  two  idols 
was  presented  to  the  worshippers,  and  which  had  not  before 
been  seen  in  the  temple  in  company  with  the  former  Idols. 
For  example:     When  Idol  3  was  ])laced  in  the  temple,  Idol 

2  took  a  tirst  place  among  the  worshij)pers.  Indeed,  Idol  2 
was  in  the  tcm})le  with  Idol  1,  but  Idol  3  was  not  with  Idol 
1,  nor  Idol  4  with  Idol  2.  If  such  a  combination  repeat- 
ing itself  after  20  3'ears,  represented  a  space  of  time  familiar 
to  the  Mayas,  it  is  natural  that  it  should  receive  the  name 
Ahau  or  period  of  the  god*  and  that  it  should  receive  its 
name  from  the  number  of  the  Idol  presiding  at  the  expira- 
tion of  this  s])a(;e  of  20  years.  If  therefore  in  the  rotation 
of  the  circle  Idols  2  and  3  passed  out  of  the  temple,  the 
combination,  or  what  is  the  same,  the  space  of  20  years, 
during  which  they  had  ornamented  the  temple  will  have 
borne  the  name  2  Ahau,  on  the  ground  that  Idol  2  had  pre- 

*  Ahau  translated  means  :  soverain,  king,  au^nst,  principal.     See  page 

3  of  Juan  Pio  Perez's  "  Diccionario  tie  la  lengua  Maya,"  published  in 
Merida  in  1877,  by  the  friends  and  faithful  executors  of  the  last  will  of 
the  defunct  scholar.  This  valuable  work  comprises  the  whole  of  the  lin- 
guistical  stock  of  the  Maya  language,  the  words  collected  exceeding  the 
number  of  20,000,  on  437  pages,  quarto.  It  may  be  purchased  from  Dr. 
George  E.  Shiels,  896  Broadway,  New  York. 


74: 

ceded  it.  Tlie  second  combination,  then,  would  follow 
when  the  presidency  of  Idol  4  would  have  finished  its  term, 
and  in  tliis  way  the  row  2,  4,  6,  8,  10,  12,  1,  3,  5,  7,  9,  11, 
13,  may  have  had  its  origin. 

Now,  it  is  true  that  the  order  in  which  these  numbers 
stand  is  different  from  that  transmitted  to  us,  which  begins  witli 
13  and  is  followed  by  11  and  9.  The  reverse  of  this  method  of 
reckoning  ma}'  possibly  be  accounted  for  in  this  way:  An 
epoch  unknown  to  us  may  have  occurred  when  the  Maya 
chroniclers  desired  to  review  past  events  and  bring  tliem 
into  order.  Counting  backwards  from  such  a  date  tliey 
would  have  called  the  first  period  of  twenty  years  not  the 
13th,  nor,  according  to  our  above  statement,  the  1st,  but  the 
2d  Ahau.  Consequently  the  period  after  the  expiration  of 
the  great  cycles  of  260  years  would  have  been  called  the 
13th  Ahau,  though  properly  sjieaking  it  should  have  been 
the  2d  Ahau.  An  historical  epoch  for  such  reckoning  back- 
ward is  known  to  liave  occurred.  It  occurred  again  in  tlie 
3-ear  1542,  when  the  conquest  of  Yucatan  by  the  Spaniards 
took  place.  It  appears  that  the  Mayas  in  that  year  declared 
their  13th  Ahau  period  to  be  at  an  end,  from  1522  to  1542  ; 
consequently  a  back  reckoning,  according  to  this  system  of 
the  Mayas,  gave  a  2d  Ahau  for  the  period  of  1502-22,  a 
4th  Ahau  for  that  of  14S2-1502,  and  going  on  in  the 
same  way  of  reckoning  the  year  1282  would  have  represented 
the  expiration  of  the  13th  Ahau. 

The  circle  of  Landa  exemplifies  tliis  manner  of  counting. 
He  starts  from  tlie  13th  Ahau,  counting  from  left  to  right. 
But  if  we  count  in  the  opposite  direction  we  should  obtain 
the  row  of  numl)ers  2,  4,  6,  8,  &c.,  as  we  have  shown  abovq. 
If  we  refer  to  the  striking  discovery  on  the  Mexican  Calen- 
dar stone*  tliat  the  days    u[)()n  that  circle   arc   not  counted 


♦Proceediiifr.s  of  Am.  Antiq.  Society,  April  24,  1878,  pa,<,'e  IG,  in  an 
article  on  the  Mexican  Calendar  Stone,  by  Ph.  J.  J.  Vaientiui,  in  which 
mention  wa.s  made  of  this  siiifinlar  kind  of  notation  from  tlie  riglit  to 
the  left  hand.     A.  v.   Humboldt,  in  "Vue  des  Cordilleres,"  page  18G,  re- 


75 

towards  the  right  l)ut  towards  tlie  left,  and  generalize  it  as  a 
rule  to  he  adopted  also  for  the  chronological  C3'cles  of  the 
Mayas,  we  should  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Mayas  in 
some  of  their  former  chronological  epochs  counted  their 
Ahaues  in  that  natural  order.  Who  shall  say  that  the 
reversed  counting  did  not  originate  from  a  misunderstanding 
on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards  ?  We  do  not  claim  to  have 
finally  disposed  of  the  question.  Every  new  attempt  will 
be  a  welcome  addition  to  the  cause,  for  each  new  investiga- 
tor is  obliged  to  descend  deeper  into  the  dark  mine  where 
Maya  histor}''  lies  buried. 


SeSor  Perez's  Translation  or  the  Manuscript. 

Senor  Perez  is  thus  far  the  only  interpreter  of  the  Maya 
Manuscript,  and  his  S))anish  text  found  a  skilful  translator 
in  Mr.  John  L.  Stephens.  Neither  the  S|»anish  text  nor  the 
special  chronological  analysis  of  each  paragraph  composed 
by  Senor  Perez,  have  hitherto  been  made  public  ;  we  owe 
the  possession  of  both  these  documents  to  the  kindness  of 
our  friend.  Dr.  Carl  Hermann  Berendt,  lately  deceased,  who, 
during  his  long  residence  in  Yucatan,  was  occupied  in  amass- 
ing a  large  collection  of  matters  relating  to  Maya  literature 
and  history,  in  original  form  or  in  authentic  copies.  In 
comparing  the  Spanish  with  the  English  translations, 
it  seems  that  many  things,  not  clear  in  the  first,  had 
been  made  more  intelligible  in  the  last.  It  is  evident 
that  Senor  Perez  sought  to  translate  the  Maya  text  as  liter- 


marks  :  Le  cercle  Interieur  oÖVe  les  viiigt  signes  du  jour  :  en  se  souve- 
uant  que  Cipactli  est  le  premier  et  Xocliitl  le  dernier,  on  volt  qu'gu'ici, 
comme partout  aillenrs,  les  Mexicaius  ont  range  les  hie'roglyphs  de  droite 
ä  gauche."  The  great  scholar  has  clothed  in  the  form  of  a  proven  state- 
ment that  which  at  the  beginning  of  this  centur}-  was  an  opinion  gen- 
erally prevalent  among  Americanists,  and  which  does  not  bear  the  test, 
when  the  numerous  copies  existing  of  the  Mexican  calendar  days  are 
examined.  They  all  show  the  arrangement  of  the  days  from  the  left  to 
the  right.     The  sculptured  calendar  is  the  onlj'  exception. 


76 

ally  and  faithfully  as  he  could  into  the  Spanish  language, 
otherwise  liis  text  would  have  been  more  fluent  and  flnished. 
The  abruptness  of  expression,  and  the  frequent  ellipses  in 
the  construction  of  its  sentences,  show  that  the  Maya  idiom 
has  been  faithfully  rendered.  Such  a  course  increases  the 
interest,  and  at  the  same  time  it  creates  confidence  in  the 
correctness  of  the  translation.  Dr.  Berendt,  the  profound 
scholar  of  the  Maya  language,  wrote  us  as  follows  on  March 
14,  1873  :  "  I  have  several  times  undertaken  to  translate 
this  manuscript  myself,  but  have  always  given  up  the  task. 
The  manifold  doubts  which  the  original  text  leaves  open 
seem  to  me  correctly  solved  by  Senor  Perez,  and  it  always 
appeared  to  me  that  I  miglit  indeed  make  another  but  not  a 
better  translation.  The  small  changes  in  the  text  of  Ste- 
phens, of  which  you  speak,  I  do  not  believe  were  introduced 
merely  from  a  love  of  his  own  expressions.  I  believe  that 
he  first  came  to  an  understanding  with  Perez,  and  sought 
only  to  assist  the  better  comprehension  of  the  manuscript 
for  the  benefit  of  tlie  public  at  large." 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  diflf'oreuces  of  translation  of  the 
manuscript  spoken  of  above,  and  to  whicli  Senor  Eligio 
Ancona*  draws  attention,  will  be  critically  investigated  and 
finally  decided  by  the  coming  generation  of  scholars  in  Yu- 
catan. The  sons  of  the  country  should  be  the  born  judges 
of  the  language  and  the  spirit  of  the  literary  relics  of  the 
indigenous  race.  Recent  investigations  have  shown  that 
this  language  was  split  into  sixteen  dialects,  which  were 
spoken  by  as  many  tribes,  whose  territories  extended  far  be- 
yond the  present  area  of  the  Yucatecan  peninsnla.f  Like  all 
languages,  these  Maya  idioms  have  undergone  changes  dur- 
in«»;  the   last  three  or  four  centuries.     To   understand  and 


*IHstoria  de  Yucatan;  by  Eligio  Aucoiia,  Merida,  1879,  Vol.  I.,  page 
15U. 

t  Kcmarlcs  on  the  Centres  of  Ancient  Civilization  in  Central  America. 
Address  read  before  the  Amer.  Geogr.  Society',  New  York,  July  10,  1876, 
by  Dr.  C.  Hermann  Berendt. 


77 

explain  their  now  obsolete  elements,  must  be  left  exclusively 
to  the  native  scholar. 


Discussion  of  the  Manuscript. 

It  will  now  be  our  task  to  endeavor  to  clear  away  such 
doubts  as  may  arise  in  regard  to  the  chronological  interpre- 
tation of  the  Maya  Manuscript.  These  doubts  have  refer- 
ence, first,  to  the  choice  of  the  method  to  be  pursued  in 
reckoning  the  Ahaues  either  at  24  or  at  20  years.  Second, 
as  to  the  manner  of  filling  up  certain  gaps  which  the  author 
has  left  open  in  the  chronological  sequence  of  the  Aliau 
period  ;  and  finally,  after  building  again  this  chronological 
structure  in  its  logical  order,  we  must  adapt  the  dates 
expressed  in  Ahaues  to  the  current  language  of  our 
Christian  chronological  era. 

In  order  to  avoid  troublesome  reference  to  the  text  of  the 
preceding  pages,  we  shall  repeat  the  English  translation,  and 
for  better  convenience,  shall  present  two  or  more  sections 
together.  To  demonstrate  Seilor  Perez's  system  and  method 
of  counting,  we  shall  give  the  translation  of  the  Spanish 
text,  as  communicated  by  Dr.  Berendt,  without  undertaking 
to  make  any  special  criticisms  of  it. 

This  is  the  series  of  Katuns  that  elapsed  from  the  time 
of  their  separation  from  the  land  and  house  of  Nonoual^ 
in  lohich  loere  the  four  Tutul  Xiu,  lying  to  the  ivest  of 
Zuina,  going  out  of  the  country  of  Tulapan. 

With  these  few  words  the  Maya  author  states  his  purpose. 
He  wishes  to  enumerate  the  Katuns  or  periods  of  time  from 
the  besinnin«;  of  the  history  of  his  nation  to  the  arrival  of 
the  Spanish  conquerors.  He  tells  us  that  his  nation  lived 
in  aland  called  Tulapan,  which  was  westerly  from  another 
called  Zuina,  and  that  from  thence,  under  the  lead  of  four 
chiefs,  the  Tutul  Xiu,  they  had  immigrated  into  this  new 
country,  Yucatan. 
11 


78 


[Map  showing  the  movement  of  the  Mayas  as  stated  iu  the  Manuscript]. 

By  Tutul  Xiu  the  author  evidently  means  the  name  of  the 
reio^ninor  family,  which,  at  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  were 
considered  as  the  ancient  rulers  and  hereditary  lords  of 
Chichen-Itza*  In  regard  to  the  countries  referred  to  by 
the  names  Tulapan  and  Zuina,  we  can  only  say  tliat  in  Cen- 
tral American  traditions   the   name  Tnlapan   oftentimes  re- 


*  Herrera,  Decade  IV.,  Lib.  X.,  Chapt.  2,  3  and  4.  These  three  chap- 
ters are  a  compilation  of  dataconcernin-jr  the  ancient  history  of  Yucatan, 
and  the  adventurous  career  of  the  Itza  race,  which  appear  to  be  drawn 
from  sources  unl^nown  at  this  day,  and  which  are  independent  of  what 
we  can  learn  from  Landa,  from  the  author  of  the  Maya  Manuscript, 
and  from  Cogolludo. 


79 

turns  under  the  form  of  Tulan.  Thus,  for  example,  the 
Quiclies  and  Cakchi([ueles,  sister  nations  of  the  Mayas,  make 
mention  of  the  above  countries  in  their  annals.*  Upon  a 
closer  examination  of  the  text,  contained  in  the  so-called 
"  Fopol  Vuh,"  we  were  unable  to  detect  any  grounds  for 
the  assumption  that  these  countries  or  places  lay  in  a  distant 
orient.  They  proi^ably  will  turn  out  to  have  been,  or  by 
the  annalists  were  thought  to  have  l)een,  situated  on  the 
northern  boundaries  of  Mexico,  on  a  route  of  migration 
ending  with  the  high  plateaus  of  Guatemala. 

§1.  Four  epochs  were  spent  in  travelling  before  they  ar- 
rived here  with  Ilolon  Chantepeuh  and  his  followers.  When 
they  began  their  journey  towards  this  island,  it  was  the  Sth 
Ahau,  and  the  '6th,  ^h  and  '2d  were  spent  in  travelling., 
because  in  the  \st  year  of  the  IZth  Ahau  they  arrived  at 
this  island,  making  together  eighty-one  years  they  were  trav- 
elling between  their  departure  from  their  country  and  their 
arrival  at  this  island  of  Chacnouitan.      These  are  81  years. 

AVe  learn  that  four  Ahau  periods  had  passed  the  8th,  6th, 
4th  and  2d  before  the  wanderers  arrived  with  their  leader, 
Holon  Chantepeuli,  at  the  island  of  Chacnouitan.  In  the 
following  13th  Ahau  they  are  said  to  have  been  already  settled 
there.  It  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  note  that  the  Maya 
author  here  acknowledges  that  he  reckoned  each  Ahau  period 
as  20  years,  and  he  remains  faithful  to  this  method  to  the  end 
of  the  manuscript.  By  this  fact  alone,  we  should  be  com- 
pelled to  follow  the  division  of  20  years  thus  established, 
even  if  in  contradiction  to  the  statements  of  other  chron- 
iclers, which  fortunately  is  not  the  case. 


♦Traces  of  such  a  migration  and  succeeding  halting  places  can  be 
discovered  in  the  Quiche  annals,  edited  by  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  with 
the  title  of  Popol  Vuh.  "  Popol  Vuh,  le  livre  sacrfi  et  les  mythes  de  I'an- 
tiquitS  centre -Aniericainc,"  Paris,  18GI,  on  pages  83,  235,  241,  and  pages 
215,  217,  23G,  in  which  names  are  quoted  and  regions  described  which 
give  evidence  of  a  course  of  migration  from  nortliern  to  southern 
Mexico. 


80 

As  the  author  treats  of  the  affairs  of  the  Tutnl  Xiu  or 
the  so-called  Itza  race,  and  attributes  to  them  the  discovery 
and  colonization  of  Yucatan,  it  is  highly  probable  that  he 
made  use  of  tlie  annals  of  tlie  Itzaes,  and  that  they  were 
arranged  in  periods  of  just  20  years.  If  we  sliould  be  right 
in  tliis  assumption  the  20-year  period  must  be  regarded  as 
the  most  ancient  ever  used  in  Yucatan. 

We  cannot  fully  agree  with  Senor  Perez  and  his  country- 
men that  the  author  intended  to  designate  the  peninsula  of 
Yucatan  when  he  speaks  of  the  Island  of  Chacnouitan. 
This  name  a])pears  for  the  first  and  only  time  in  this  manu- 
script. It  is  genei'ally  acknowledged  that  tlie  name  liad 
never  previously  l^een  heard  of.*  We  should  state  that  the 
words  of  the  text  are  always  nay  t'l  ])etene  Chacnouitan.  If 
in  Alaya  jye^'ön  meant  only  a  peniiisuhi,  we  should  take  no 
exceptions.  But  the  fundamental  meaning  of  peten  is  an 
island,  and  as  the  demonstrative  pronoun  7iay  means  as  well 
"of  this  place"  as  "of  that  pla(;e,"  tlie  ti'anslation  could  as  well 
stand  for  "tliat  distant  island."  Whether  the  island  was  situ- 
ated in  the  ocean  or  in  any  of  the  many  inland  lakes,  the  pro- 
babilities seem  to  lie  with  the  latter  supposition,  for  they 
came  by  land.  Had  they  come  by  sea,  tradition  would  liave 
dwelt  with  some  characteristic  remark  upon  such  an  ex- 
ceptional case.  From  the  following  paragraph  it  will  become 
still  more  evident  that  the  Chacnouitan  discovci-ed  l)y  the 
Itzaes  was  neither  tlie  whole  nor  the  northern  part  of  Yuca- 


*  E.  Ancona,  Uistoria  de  Yucatan,  Vol.  I.,  page  34.  Merida,  1879. — 
"The  word  Chacuovitau  or  Chacnouitan  first  appeared  in  the  Maya 
MSS.  or  series  of  Maya  epochs.  Upon  examining  this  document,  and 
observing  tliat  tlie  tribe  wandered  from  Tuhipan  to  Cliacnouitan 
and  later  to  Bakhalal  and  from  there  to  Chicheii-ltza,  etc.,  it  will  be 
understood  that  the  name  in  question  was  given  to  no  other  portion  of 
our  peninsula  than  to  that  which  lies  at  the  south.  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg  supposes,  and  we  think  not  without  reason,  that  Chacnouitan  lay 
between  Bakhalal  andAcallan,  s.  e.  of  the  Laguna  de  los  Terminos.— See 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Archives  de  la  comission  scientlfica,  Tonio.  I, 
page  422,  note  2." 


81 

tun,  but  a  district  situated  in  tlic   soutliwcst  of  the   penin- 
sula. 

§2.  The  SthAhau,  the^tli  Ahaii^in  the  %}  Ahau  arrived 
Ajmekat  Tutul  Xiu,  and  ninety-nine  years  they  remained 
in  Chacnouitan — years  99. 

§3.  In  this  time  also  took  j^l^c^^  the  discovery  of  the  Prov- 
ince of  Ziyan-caan  or  Bacalar  ;  the  ^th  Ahau  and  the  Id 
Ahau  and  the  ISth  Ahait,  or  sixty  years  they  had  ruled  in 
Ziyan-caan  when  thp:y  came  here.  During  these  years  of 
their  gov ei'nment  of  the  Province  of  Bacalar  occurred  the 
discovery  of  the  Province  of  Chichen-Itza.  These  are  years 
60. 

As  the  first  section  closed  with  the  arrival  at  Chacnouitan, 
which  took  place  upon  the  2d  zVhau,  it  was  to  be  expected 
that  the  second  section  would  continue  the  sequence  of 
Ahaues  so  as  to  connect  with  the  necessarily  following  13th 
Ahau.  But  we  see  that  it  begins  with  the  8th  Ahau,  follows 
with  the  6th  and  closes  with  the  2d  Ahau. 

Before  taking  notice  of  the  accounts  given  in  these  two 
paragraphs  let  us  first  ascertain  what  Ahaues  were  left  t)ut 
between  the  2d  Ahau,  at  the  end  of  the  first  section,  and 
the  Sth  Ahau,  witli  which  the  second  section  begins.  Ac- 
cording to  the  rule  above  given  on  the  alternating  Ahaues, 
the  missing  ones  would  be  the  following  :  The  (13),  (11), 
(9),  (7),  (5\  (3),  (1),  (12),  and  (10th)  Ahau.  Of  these  nine 
Ahaues,  or  180  years,  tlie  author  had  nothing  in  mind  to  tell 
us.  No  event  of  significance  appears  to  have  taken  place. 
Perhaps  the  wanderers  had  to  rest  to  gather  strength  before 
attempting  further  conquests.  Moreover,  this  time  belongs 
to  the  most  ancient  epochs  of  Maya  history,  and  informa- 
tion regarding  it  was  so  dim  and  so  o!)scurc  that  it  a[)peared 
to  the  author  as  of  no  account.  The  chronological  sequence 
thus  being  established,  let  us  now  turn  to  the  contents  of  the 
two  sections,  2  and  3.  They  begin  with  the  8th  Ahau  and 
close   with    the   13th   Ahau.     x\s  to   the   eve*^''*   happening 


82 

within  the  8th,  6tli,  4th,  2d  and  13th  Ahau,  they  indeed  do 
not  appear  in  the  wished  for  sequence.  But  tlie  sequence,  as 
will  be  shown,  can  be  established  without  making  interpola- 
tions. It  will  be  noticed  that  in  section  2  the  -itli  Ahau  is 
not  mentioned.  After  having  quoted  the  8th  and  6tli  Ahau, 
the  author  passes  over  this  4th  Ahau  and  mentions  the  arri- 
val of  Ajmekat,  belonging  to  the  family  of  the  renowned 
Tutul  Xin,  who  seems  to  have  led  in  the  conquests  of 
Bacalar  and  Chichen-Itza,  which  are  recorded  in  section  3, 
as  happening  in  the  4th,  2d  and  13tli  Ahau.  That  these  con- 
quests must  be  counted  into  the  epoch  mentioned  with  the 
names  8th,  6tli,  4tli,  2d  and  13th  Ahau  is  clearly  expressed 
by  the  words,  "  i?!  this  thtie,^''  so  that  no  mistake  can  take 
place  as  to  the  intimate  connection  with  the  arrival  of  Ajme- 
kat. We  learn  moreover  tliat  the  time  which  the  conquerors 
remained  in  the  province  of  Chacnouitan  is  said  to  have 
been  99  years.  These  99  or  100  years  cover  exactl}'  the 
time  represented  by  the  above  five  Ahaues,  and  when  read- 
ing at  the  end  of  the  3d  paragraph  that  they  had  ruled  60 
years  in  Ziyan  caan  Bacalar,  it  becomes  clear  that  these  60 
years  are  not  years  that  follow  the  99  years,  l)ut  that  they 
were  the  last  years  of  the  99  mentioned.  The  two  sections 
supj)lement  each  other,  and  from  them  the  following  im- 
pression is  conveyed,  that  Chacnouitan  was  the  territory  situ- 
ated southwest  of  the  shores  of  the  great  lagoon  of 
Bacalar.  The  wanderers  had  been  waiting  during  eleven 
Ahaues,  from  the  13tii  to  the  4tli  Ahau,  before  they 
made  an  attack  against  the  possessors  of  Bacalar.  An 
attempt  to  take  it  appears  to  have  been  made  during  the 
8th,  6th  and  4th  Ahaues,  and  only  accomplished  in  the  2d 
Ahau,  through  the  arrival  or  help  of  Ajmekat,  who  led  them 
further  on  to  the  discovery  or  conquest  of  Chichen-Itza,  in 
the  13th  Ahau. 

The  diliiculty  of  interpreting  the  two  sections  is  removed 
as  soon  as  we  view  them  in  the  light  of  the  reasons  given, 
not  as  two  distinct  cpociis  of  which  the  one  follows  tiic  other, 


83 

as  Serior  Perez  docs  (see  cominciitai-y),  but  as  1)eloTiging  to 
one  and  the  same  epoch  from  tlie  8tli  to  the  13th  Alian.  It 
must  not  be  so  much  questioned  wliat  the  author  ought  to 
have  done  in  order  to  represent  liis  history  in  a  logical  way, 
and  on  account  of  his  omissions  cast  a  doubt  iq^on  the  lohole 
record^  as  how  to  use  what  he  has  left  to  construct  a  system 
from  these  elements,  and  to  avail  oui'selves  unhcsitatingl}' 
of  the  help  of  the  chronological  sequence  of  Ahaues,  which 
is  and  will  remain  the  only  relial)lc  thread  to  lead  us  through 
and  out  of  the  labyrinth. 

Commentary  of  Senor  Perez. — "  The  manuscript  informs  us  that  at 
the  8th  Ahau  a  colony  of  Toltecs  under  their  leader  Ilolon  Chantepeuh, 
marched  out  from  the  city  of  Tulapau,  and  that  in  their  wanderings 
they  spent  4  Ahaues,  8,  6,  4,  2,  till  they  came  to  Chacnouitau,  which 
happened  in  the  first  year  of  the  13th  Ahau.  To  doubt  this  is  not  pos- 
sible, for  this  statement  is  the  beginning  and  foundation  of  all  later 
dates.  According  to  my  calculation  which  I  will  explain  hereafter,  it 
was  from  the  year  144  to  217,  which  is  97  and  not  81  years,  as  the  manu- 
script reports,  for  if  we  compute  the  Ahaues  with  24  years,  as  we  have 
shown,  and  include  the  first  year  of  the  Ahau  following  as  the  time  of 
their  arrival,  then  the  account  makes  97  years.  They  stayed  in  Chac- 
nouitau with  AjmeUat  Tutul  Xiu  during  the  remaining  years  of  the  13th 
Ahau,  until  the  2d  Ahau. 

These  Ahaues,  as  we  have  explained,  should  follow  in  the  order  13, 
9,  7,  5,  and  not  13,  6,  8,  2,  for  this  latter  list  represents  earlier  Ahaues, 
and  as  they  represent  different  epochs  they  can  only  be  expressed  by  the 
same  figures  after  the  expiration  of  312  years,  thereby  clearly  showing 
the  error. 

It  is  likewise  asserted  that  they  remained  99  years  in  Chacnouitan, 
which  could  not  have  been  true,  for  this  would  have  made  119  actual 
years,  or  only  95  years  if  we  reckon  only  four  Ahaues,  without  the 
second,  for  if  we  regard  the  succession  we  miss  the  4th  Ahau,  which 
the  manuscript  has  left  out.  But  the  manuscript  does  not  count  four 
but  five  Ahaues,  as  it  reckons  an  Ahau  at  20  years,  the  five  Ahaues  less 
one  year  make  the  aforesaid  99  years." 

§4.  The  nth  Ahau,  9th,  7th,  5th,  3d  and  1st  Ahau,  or 
120  years,  they  ruled  in  Chichen-Itza,  when  it  was  destroyed, 
and  they  emigrated  to  Champuttui  ichere  the  Itzaes,  holy 
men,  had  houses.  Yeai'S  120. 

§5.  The  Qth  Ahau,  they  took  possession  of  the  territory  of 
Champutun,tJie  Ath  Ahau,  2d,  Vdth,  Wth,  dth,  7th,  5th,  3d, 


84 

lst,l'2th,10thandSth,Champutu7iiüas  destroyed  or  ahan- 
doned.  The  Itzaes  reigned  two  hundred  and  sixty  years  in 
Champutun  when  they  returned  in  search  of  their  homes, 
and  they  lived  for  several  Katuns  in  the  uninhabited  moun- 
tains. Years  260. 

§6.  TJie  Gth  Ahau,  Mh  Ahau,  after  40  years  they  re- 
turned to  their  homes  once  more  and  Chamj^utun  was  lost  to 
them.  Years  40. 

The  fourth  section,  iu  correct  sequence,  continues  the  series 
from  the  13th  Ahau  when  Chichen-Itza  was  founded.  It 
covers  the  11th,  9th,  7th,  5th,  8d,  and  1st  Ahau,  a  space  of 
20  years,  in  which  the  wanderers  make  tlic  new  region  of 
Chichen-Itza  their  metropolis.  Enemies,  howev^er,  whose 
names  are  not  indicated,  destro}»^  the  place  and  oblige  them 
to  look  elsewhere.  They  then  turn  to  Champutun  (now 
Champoton,  also  Fotonchan),  situated  in  a  southwesterly 
direction  from  Chiclien-Itza,  on  the  westerly  shore  of  the 
Peninsula. 

The  fifth  section  should  begin  with  the  12tli  Ahau,  but 
instead  it  follows  the  6th  Ahau.  Hence  the  (12th),  (10th)  and 
(8tli)  Ahau  are  missing.  These  60  j'ears  may  be  supposed 
to  be  the  time  required  by  the  exiles  to  recuperate  their 
strength  in  order  to  conquer  the  new  territory  of  Champo- 
ton. In  the  6th  Ahau  then  they  succeeded  in  taking  Cham- 
poton, and  they  remained  there  during  the  4th,  2d,  13th, 
11th,  9th,  7th,  5th,  3d,  1st,  12th,  10th  and  8th  Ahaus,  a  full 
Ahau-Katun  epoch  of  260  years.  They  were  obliged  to 
leave  Champoton  in  the  Stb  Ahau,  and  seemed  willing  to 
return  to  their  old  home,  but  determined  to  reconquer  Cham- 
poton. Wc  are  told  in  the  sixth  section  that  two  Katuns 
or  40  years,  were  passed  in  delays  and  preparations,  cor- 
rectly figured  by  the  6th  and  4th  Ahau  ;  that  they  then  made 
an  attempt  to  reconquer  Champoton,  failing  in  which,  they 
were  obliged  to  look  about  for  a  new  home. 

Commentary  ok  Senor  Perez  to  the  4th,  5th  and  6th  Secitons.— 
They  reraaiued  iu  Chicheu-Itza  and  ruled  there  until  it  was  destroyed, 


85 

when  they  betook  themselves  to  Champoton.  Here  they  built  their 
houses  during  the  11th,  9lh,  7th,  5th,  3d  aud  1st  Ahaues  (sic).  If  tliis 
succession  should  be  stated  correctly  it  would  be  the  10th,  8th,  6th,  4th, 
2d  and  13th  Ahau,  or  from  the  year  402  to  57G,  A.  D.,  when  the  13th 
Ahau  expired.  The  Ahaues  represented  the  years  432,  456,  480,  504,  528 
and  552  A.  D. 

§5.  In  the  6th  Ahau  they  took  Champoton  and  held  sway  there  during 
the  following  twelve  Ahaues  until  it  was  destroyed.  After  this  they 
looked  again  for  a  home  after  they  had  passed  several  Katunes  in  the 
mountainous  regions,  which  were  the  11th,  9th,  7th,  5th,  3d,  1st,  12th, 
10th,  8th,  6th,  4th,  2d  and  13th  Ahaues,  making  a  complete  epoch  of  312 
years.  Their  coming  should  not  have  been  stated  as  the  üth,  but  the 
11th  Ahau,  according  to  the  explanation. 

§6.  In  the  Gth  and  4tli  Ahau  they  again  erected  houses  after  they  had 
lost  Champoton,  that  is  after  a  lapse  of  48  years,  which  requires  a  con- 
nection with  the  11th  and  9th  Ahau.  This  occurred  in  the  years  888  to 
936  A.  D.,  for  the  llih  Ahau  began  in  888,  the  9th  in  912,  and  ended  in 
the  year  936  A.  D. 

§7.  In  this  Katan  of  the  'id  Ahau,  Ajcuitok  Tutid  Xiu 
established  himself  m  Uxmal ;  the  ^dAhau,l^th,  l\th^ 
dth,  1th,  bth,  ^d,  1st,  \2th  and  10th  Ahau,  equal  to  200 
years,  they  governed  in  Uxnial,  with  the  governors  of 
Chichen-Itza  and  Mayajyan. 

The  former  section  closing  witli  the  4tli  Ahau,  this  Ijegins 
M'ith  the  2(1  and  is  followed  in  correct  snccession  by  the  13th, 
11th,  9th,  7th,  5th,  3d,  1st,  12th  and  10th,  a  space  of  200 
years.  1\\  the  2d  Ahan,  under  tlieir  leader  Ajcuitok,  they 
settled  down  in  a  new  region  at  the  town  of  Uxnial.  It 
appears  that  Chichen-Itza  had  been  rebuilt,  and  Maj'apan 
newly  founded,  ßulers  i-esided  at  both  places  at  peace  with 
the  Tutul  Xiu  at  IJxmal. 

Commentary  of  Sexok  Perez  to  Section  7. — In  the  2d  Ahau  Ajcui- 
tok Tutul  Xiu  made  a  settlement  in  Uxiiial,  and  reigned  there  with  the 
Governors  of  Chicheu-Itza  and  Mayapan  during  2d,  13th,  lltli,  9lh,  7th, 
5th,  3d,  1st,  12th  and  10th  Ahau.  A  correction  of  these  Ahaues  gives  us 
the  7th,  5th,  3d,  1st,  12th,  10th,  8th,  6th,  4th  and  2d,  and  brings  them 
into  harmony  with  the  Christian  era,  to  wit :  the  years  936,  960,  987, 
1008,  1032,  1056,  lOSO,  1104,  1128  and  1152  A.  D.  The  2d  Ahau  ended 
with  the  foundation  and  with  the  completion  of  240  years  in  the  year 
1176,  for  the  foundation  took  place  in  the  year  936,  when  the  7th  Ahau 
just  now  corrected  began. 
12 


86 

§8.  These  are  the  TfatunsAlth,  9th  and  Uh  Ahau  {sic.) 
In  the  8th  the  Governor  of  Chichen-Itza  was  deposed  he- 
cause  he  murmured  disrespectfully  against  JIvnac-eel. 
This  hapi^ened  to  Chacxihchac  of  Chichen-Itza,  gov- 
ernor of  the  fortress  of  Ilayaljjan.  Ninety  years  had 
elaj)sed^  but  the  tenth  year  of  the  Sth  Ahau  was  the  year  in 
which  he  was  overthrotcn  hy  Ajzinte-y ut-chan  with  Tzunte- 
cum,  Taxcal,  Panternit,  Xuch-cuet,  Ytzcuat  and  Kahalte- 
cat.     These  are  the  nam,es  of  the  seven  Mayalpanes. 

§9.  Ii  the  same  Katun  of  the  Sth  Ahau,  they  attacked 
King  Ulmil  in  consequence  of  his  quarrel  with  Tllil,  King 
of  Yzamal  /  thirteen  divisions  of  troops  he  head  when  he  was 
routed  l)y  Hunac-eel ;  in  the  Qth  A  hau  the  loar  loas  over 
after  34  years. 

As  the  foregoing  section  7  closed  witli  the  lOtli  Ahan,  we 
should  expect  section  8  to  begin  with  the  8th  Ahau.  We 
read,  however,  11th,  9th  and  6tii  Ahan.  This  sequence  is 
evidently  incorrect  in  itself,  because  the  9th  can  never  be 
followed  by  the  6tli  Ahau.  If  the  ])eriod  began  with  the 
11th  Ahau,  the  sequence  should  follow  with  the  9th  and  7tli 
Ahau.  The  correct  reading  of  tlie  text,  however,  will  result 
from  the  examination  of  that  which  follows  immediately 
after  this  introductory  sentence.  There  we  read  these 
words:  "  Jn  the  8th  Aliau  the  governor  of  Chichen-Itza  was 
deposed,"  etc.,  and  this  same  8tli  Ahau  is  mentioned  again  in 
the  sentence  that  follows,  beginning  with  "  Ninety  years," 
etc.  So  also  it  reappears  for  a  third  time  in  section  9,  at 
its  beginning.  Now,  as  section  8  was  expected  to  commence 
with  the  8tli  Ahau,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  antlior 
has  blundered  in  some  way.  We  presume  that  instead  of 
11th,  9th  and  6th,  he  intended  to  write  10th  8th  and  6th. 
The  10th  would  indicate  a  reference  made  to  the  ending  of 
the  last  section.  The  8th  and  6th  are  those  in  which  all  the 
events  described  in  our  two  sections  occur,  for  the  insulted 
govern(jr  llunac-eel  of  section  8  is  the  same  who  takes  re- 
venge in  section  9. 


87 

This  difficulty  being  roinoved,  anotlici- jiriscs,  how  to  inter- 
pret the  words  "  ninety  years  ehipsed,  hut  the  tenth  year  of 
the  8th  Ahau  was  tlieycarin  which  he  was  overtlirown,"  etc. 
This  reads  as  if  these  ninety  years  were  predecessors  of  the 
8th  Ahau.  If  this  were  so,  they  would  fall  in  the  10th,  12th, 
1st,  3d  and  the  tirst  half  of  the  5tli  Ahau.  Of  such  Ahaues 
mention  is  made  in  the  foregoing  section  7.  But  we  notice 
these  Ahaues  were  passed  in  ])eace  and  not  in  war,  as  our 
passage  evidently  suggests.  We  cannot  help  thinking  that 
another  blunder  is  concealed  in  this  phrase,  and  that  the 
author  meant  to  write  nine  years.  If  we  write.  Nine  years 
had  elapsed^  but  the  tenth  year  of  the  8th,  Ahau  was  the 
yearin  ichich  he  was  overthrown,  the  idea  of  the  author  seems 
stated  correctly.  These  nine  years,  then,  would  have  fallen 
in  the  10th  Ahau,  with  whi(!h  we  proposed  to  commence 
se(5tion  8,  and  nine  years  added  to  the  twenty  years  of  the 
8th  Ahau,  make  twenty-nine  years,  and  live  moi'c  years  of 
the  6th  Ahau  give  those  thirty-four  years,  which,  at  the  end 
of  section  9  are  expressly  indicated  as  passed  in  war.  Such 
is  the  sense  which  we  give  to  these  two  somewhat  perplexing 
sections. 

COMMENTAIJY   OF   SkxOU   PeREZ   TO    SECTIONS   8   AND   9. — The   AliaUGS 

11th,  9th,  6lh  and  8th  passed  away,  and  in  the  latter  the  governor  Hunac- 
eel  of  Mayapan  overthrew  Chacxibchac,  the  governor  of  Chichen-Itza, 
because  he  had  spoken  ill  of  him,  and  in  the  10th  year  of  tlie  last  Ahau, 
the  seven  chiefs  of  Hunac-ecl  overcame  the  governor  Chacxibchac.  If 
a  correction  is  to  be  made  it  should  then  stand  i;5th,  11th,  9th  and  7th 
Ahau,  or  the  years  1170,  li'OO,  122-t  and  1248  to  the  year  1272  A.  D.  Hence 
it  was  the  year  1258,  the  tenth  year  of  the  7th  Ahau  that  Chacxibchitc 
was  overcome. 

During  the  8th  Ahau  occurred  the  destruction  of  the  power  of  King 
Ulmil,  because  he  had  waged  war  against  Ulil  of  Izamal,  and  Hunac-eel 
at  the  head  of  13  divisions  overcame  Ulmil  in  the  6th  Ahau.  [We  are 
unable  to  give  the  correction  of  Seöor  Perez,  as  we  do  not  comprehend 
his  text.] 

§10.  In  the  Q>th  Ahau,  Uh  Ahau,  2d  Ahau,  13th,  Ahau, 
nth.  Ahau  the  fortified  territory  of  Mayapan  was  invaded 
hy  the  men  of  Itza  under  their  Icing  Ulmil  because  they  had 


88 

walls,  and  governed  in  common  the  peojjle  of  Mayalpan  ; 
eighty-three  years  elapsed  after  this  event,  and  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  11th  Ahau,  Mayalpa?i  toas  destroyed  by  strangers 
of  the  JJitzes  or  Highlanders,  as  was  also  Tancaj  of  May- 
alpan. Years  83. 

§11.  In  the  '^th  A  hau,  Mayalpan  was  destroyed ;  the  epochs 
of  the  QtJi,  4:th,  2ö?  elap)sed,  and  at  this  period  the  Spaniards, 
for  the  first  time  arrived,  and  gave  the  name  of  Yucatan 
to  this  province,  sixty  years  after  the  destruction  of  the  for- 
tress. Years  60. 

In  section  10  the  6tli  Ahau  follows  the  8th  correctly,  and 
the  4th,  2d,  13th  and  11th  Ahanes  were  passed  in  internal 
wars  between  Chichen-ltza  and  Mayalpan.  In  the  lltli 
Ahau  a  highland  people,  called  Uitze  (probably  Quichö), 
unite  with  the  rulers  of  Chichen-ltza,  and  they  then  succeed 
in  destroying  Mayalpan.  In  section  11  another  destruction 
of  Mayalpan  is  reported.  As  this  section  begins  with  the 
8th  Ahau,  and  the  foregoing  ended  with  the  11th,  a  gap  was 
left  which  represents  the  (9th),  (7tli),  (5th),  (3d),  (1st),  (12th) 
and  (10th)  Ahau.  This  gap  undoubtedly  means  a  period  of 
great  exhaustion  to  both  contending  parties,  and  as  a  second 
destruction  of  Mayalpan  is  reported  in  the  8tli  Ahau,  ^ve 
may  fairly  assume  that  this  city  had  recovered,  and  in  making 
a  last  eöbrt  to  regain  supremacy,  was  finally  conquered.  We 
understand  the  two  reported  destructions  of  this  city  as  the 
heroic  and  victorious  effort  of  the  Maya  race  to  exterminate 
the  foreign  Nahuatl  invader,  who,  for  a  long  period  suc- 
ceeded in  taking  a  strong  foothold  in  the  country.  In  the 
succeeding  epochs  of  the  6th,  4th  and  2d  Ahau,  exhaustion 
from  the  war  and  disintegration  nuist  have  ensued,  for  such 
was  the  condition  in  which  the  Spaniards  found  the  Maya 
people  in  the  following  13tli  and  11th  Ahaues,  which  were 
the  last  they  were  allowed  to  count. 

COMMEXTARY     OF     SenOR    PeREZ     TO    SECTIONS    10    AND     11. — In    the 

6th,  4th,  2d  and  11th  Ahauos  the  fortified  land  of  Mayapan  is  attaclted 
by  the  men  of  Itzaand  their  king  Ulmil,  for  it  had  walls,  and  the  people 


89 

Avcre  governcfl  in  a  community.  The  place  was  destroyed  by  foreigners 
from  the  Higldands  in  the  lltli  Ahau,  and  Tancaj  of  Mayapan  was  also 
conquered.  The  correction  of  the  reckoning  gives  us  the  5th,  3d,  1st, 
12th  and  10th  Ahau.  AVe  have  statetl  that  the  5th  Ahau  began  in  the 
year  1272,  and  the  others  were  consequently  1296,  1320,  1344,  and  1368, 
and  the  8th  Ahau  ended  in  the  year  1392  A.  D. 

In  the  8th  Ahau  Mayapan  was  destroyed,  then  followed  the  Katuues 
of  the  6th,  4th  and  2d  Ahau,  in  which  latter  the  Spaniards  passed  by 
and  gave  to  the  province  the  name  of  Yucatan.  Hence,  the  Ahaues 
begin  again  their  regular  course,  though  it  is  a  contradiction  to  say  in 
the  foregoing  section  that  Mayapan  had  been  destroyed  in  the  11th 
Ahau  (corrected  to  the  10th  Ahau).  It  would  perhaps  have  been  better 
to  say  it  had  been  destroyed  for  the  second  time,  possibly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  rebuilding  it.  The  8th  Ahau  began  in  the  year  1392,  the  6th, 
4th  and  2d  Ahaues  fell  in  the  years  1416,  1440  and  1464,  which  last  ended 
in  the  year  1488  A.  D. 

§12.  TAe  13t/i  Ahau,  \lth  Ahau  pestilence  and  small- 
])0x  toere  in  the  castles.  In  the  IMh  Ahau  chief  Ajpuld 
died.  Six  years  were  wanting  to  complete  the  IMh  Ahau. 
This  year  was  counted  towards  the  east  of  the  wheel,  and 
began  on  the  Mh  Kan.  Ajpidd  died  on  the  ISth  day  of  the 
month  Zip,  on  the  ^th  Imix  ;  and  that  it  may  he  known  in 
numbers  it  was  the  year  1536,  sixty  years  after  the  demoli- 
tion of  the  fortress. 

§13.  Before  the  termination  of  the  11th  Ahau  the  Span- 
iards arrived ,  holy  men  from  the  East  came  with  them  xohen 
they  reached  the  land.  The  ^th  Ahau  was  the  commence- 
ment of  baptism  and  Christianity  ;  and  in  this  year  was 
the  arrival  of  Toroba  ( Toral),  the  first  bishop,  1544. 

After  the  11th  section  had  closed  with  the  2d  Ahau,  the 
12th  section  correctly  begins  with  the  13th  Ahau,  and  the 
13th  and  last  section  closed  the  manuscript  with  the  lltli 
Ahau,  wlicn  the  government  of  the  Mayas  was  brought  to 
an  end  by  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards.  The  particular  de- 
tails contained  in  these  two  sections  will  be  discussed  liere- 
after. 

Commentary  of  Senor  Perez  to  Sections  12  and  13.— In  the  13th 
and  the  11th  Ahaues  pestilence  and  small-pox  reigned.  In  the  sixth 
year,  before  the  expiration  of  the  13th  Ahau,  Ajpula  died  at  the  time 


90 

when  four  Katiines  wei'e  counted  on  the  east  of  the  wheel.  His  death 
happened  on  the  18th  day  of  the  mouth  Zip,  on  the  9th  day  Imix.  This 
date  is  wrong  accordin«;;  to  my  reckoning;  for  the  year  4  Cavac  expired 
at  the  beginning  and  not  at  the  end  of  the  epoch,  otherwise  it  would 
have  been  the  year  4  Muluc.  In  the  first  case,  the  year  4  Cavac  was  that 
of  149G,  in  the  other  case  it  would  be  the  year  1506,  and  never  that  of 
1536,  for  in  that  year  the  9th  Ahau  began.* 

We  give,  besides,  a  recapitulation  which  Sefior  Perez  him- 
self added  to  liis  commentary,  and  for  which  we  are  indebted 
to  the  kindness  of  the  late  Dr.  C.  Hermann  Berendt: — 

"  From  what  we  have  stated  it  will  be  seen  that  by  only  taking  into 
account  the  number  of  epochs  which  are  mentioned  in  the  manuscript, 
and  which  elapsed  between  events,  and  by  restoring  this  nomenclature 
according  to  the  progressive  series  of  the  Ahaues,  it  appears  that  all 
indicated  facts  occur  within  the  space  of  58  epochs  of  24  years 
each,  which  makes  in  all  1392  years  to  the  expiration  of  the  Uth  Ahau. 
If  we  subtract  these  years  from  the  year  1536,  in  which  the  11th  Ahau 
expired,  1444  A.  D.  remains  as  the  year  when  the  Toltecs  seem  to  have 
arrived  to  colonize  the  country. 

But  if  we  allow  the  epochs  and  their  enumeration  to  stand  as  they 
are,  and  in  order  to  integrate  the  Ahaues  in  the  sequence  above  indi- 
cated, add  those  which  are  missing,  we  should  find  that  97  epochs, 
each  of  24  years  had  passed.  The  sum  of  2328  years,  represented  by 
this  count,  is  a  space  of  time  of  too  great  magnitude  to  bring  into  har- 
mony with  Mexican  history,  and  would  signify  that  this  country  was  40 
years  older  than  the  foundation  of  Rome,  and  17  years  older  than  the 
introduction  of  Greek  Olympiads,  which  is  very  improbable. 

Should  any  hypercritical  person  fail  to  believe  in  the  list  of  epochs 
because  their  succession  is  incorrect,  let  him  remember  that  the  list  has 
much  to  render  it  worthy  of  belief,  though  it  must  be  subjected  to  cor- 
rections.    Still  less  ought  any  one   to   refuse   belief  in  the  historical 


*  Seiior  Perez  in  his  commentary  makes  his  calculation  that  1496  was 
the  year  of  the  deathof  Chief  Ajpulä,  and  succeeds  in  giving  it  a  plausible 
appearance  of  correctness.  But  we  observe  that  in  order  to  reach  this 
date  he  was  not  aware  of  having  altered  the  words  of  the  Maya  text, 
and  those  of  his  own  translation.  This  translation  said  correctly  : 
"  There  were  still  six  years  wanting  before  the  completion  of  the  13th 
Ahau."  In  the  text  of  the  commentary,  however,  we  find  him  starting 
his  count  on  the  supposition  that  the  original  text  was  the  sixth  year  of 
the  13th  Ahau.  Though  this  change  is  by  no  means  allowable,  he  suc- 
ceeds, ingeniously  enough,  in  arriving  at  the  year  above  quoted,  and  in 
stating  also  the  dates  of  the  day  and  month,  precisel}'  as  the  annalist 
had  set  them  down. 


91 

statement  of  events.  The  niannscript  indicates  a  traditional  origin 
common  to  the  liistory  of  all  primitive  nations.  It  is  noticeal)le  that  uo 
traditions  exist  to  contradict  the  manuscript,  and  that  it  is  the  only  one 
thus  far  discovered.  The  contents  of  the  manuscript  might  be  thus 
epitomized  : — 

1.  The  Toltecs  occupied  4  epochs  in  going  from  their  liome  to  Chac- 
nouitan.  144—217  A.  D. 

2.  They  arrived  there  in  the  first  year  of  the  succeeding  epoch,  and 
remained  still  4  epochs  more  with  their  chieftain,  Ajmekat  Tutul  Xiu. 

218— 3G0  A.  D. 

3.  The}'  discovered  Ziyan-Caan  or  Bacalar  and  ruled  therein  3  epochs, 
till  they  discovered  Chichen-Itza.  SCO— 432  A   D. 

4.  They  remained  at  Chiciien-Itza  G  epochs,  till  they  set  out  to  colonize 
Champoton.  432—576  A.  D. 

5.  From  the  discovery  of  Champoton,  whicli  they  colonized  and  ruled 
until  they  lost  it,  13  epochs  elapsed.  57G— 888  A.  D. 

G.  They  remain  2  epochs  in  the  wilderness  till  they  return  again  to 
Chichen-Itza.  888—936  A.  D. 

7.  In  the  following  epoch  Ajcuitok  Tutul  Xiu  colonized  Uxmal,  and 
ruled  during  10  epochs  in  harnion}'  with  the  governors  of  Mayapan  and 
Chichen.  936—1176  A.  D. 

8.  Three  other  epochs  pass,  and  in  the  10th  year  of  the  following 
epoch  Chacxibchac,  ruler  of  Chichen,  was  defeated  by  Huuac-eel,  ruler 
of  Mayapan,  and  his  captains.  117G— 1258  A.  D. 

9.  In  the  same  epoch  of  the  defeat  of  the  ruler  of  Chichen  they 
marched  against  Ulmil,  who  was  king  in  the  same  Chichen,  because  he 
had  waged  war  against  Ulil,  king  of  Izamal,  which  war  Hunac-eel, 
brought  to  a  close  in  the  following  epoch.  1258 — 1572  A.  D. 

10.  In  spite  of  Ulmil's  defeat  this  ruler  of  Chichen  planned  an  inva- 
sion of  Mayapan.  After  the  lapse  of  2  more  epochs,  and  in  the  third 
year  of  that  which  followed,  Mayapan  was  destroyed  in  the  year  1368 
by  strangers  who  came  from  the  mountains.  1272—1392  A.  D. 

11.  Besides  the  three  named  epochs,  and  indeed  in  the  last  of  them, 
the  Spaniards  passed  along,  who  gave  to  the  province  the  name  of  Yu- 
catan. 1392—1488  A.  D. 

12.  In  the  following  epoch  an  epidemic  reigned  even  in  the  temples 
and  fortitied  places,  and  in  the  Gth  year  Ajpula  died  on  the  11th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1493.  1488—1512  A.  D. 

13.  In  the  11th  and  last  epoch  (153G — 1576)  the  conquerors  arrived,  to 
wit:  in  1527,  and  in  the  following  the  first  Bishop  came,  in  the  year 
1541,  and  the  conquest  was  completed  in  15G0  A.  D. 

Thus  much  I  have  been  able  to  bring  to  light  in  this  matter.  But  with 
the  help  of  dates,  which  I  do  not  possess,  and  with  that  of  the  travels 
you  have  nuide  in  our  country,  the  information  which  you  have  gathered 


92 

must  have  eularged  your  ideas  on  this  subject,  and  I  wish  you  would  be 
so  kiud  as  to  coramuuicate  them  to  your  most  devoted 

F.  I.  JUAN  PIO  PEREZ. 
Feto,  April  2.  1842. 

Mr.  J.  Lloyd  Stephens." 


Concluding  Remarks. 

It  will  be  noticed  from  the  text  of  tlie  Manuscript,  that 
no  events  are  commemorated  but  such  as  are  connected  with 
loar.  In  this  style  also  the  Nahuatl  annals  were  drawn  up. 
With  both  nations  war  was  recognized  as  the  only  fact 
worthy  to  be  kept  in  the  memory  of  the  coming  generations. 
Nor  does  the  author  state  whether  the  country  was  ruled  by 
kings  or  an  emperor.  It  is  rather  suggested  (section  7)  that 
the  tribes  were  gathered  in  groups,  with  a  large  town  as  a 
centre,  and  this  town  was  governed  by  a  priest.  The  words 
halach  2iinicil,  holy  ')nen,  were  somewhat  too  freel}'  inter- 
preted with  governor  by  the  translator.  In  regard  to  the 
considerable  gaps  in  the  sequence  of  years  in  the  manuscript, 
we  will  not  longer  attribute  them  to  a  lack  of  memory  on 
the  part  of  the  author,  but  to  the  custom  generally  observed 
among  the  annalists  to  be  regardless  of  any  work  of  peace 
})erformed  i)y  tlie  nation  ;  and  whenever  the  question  shall 
b(!  discussed,  at  what  epoch  the  building  of  the  huge  pyra- 
mids and  temples  took  place,  these  dates  will  contribute  to 
the  answer.  Periods  of  peace  certainly  began  with  3'ears  of 
great  exhaustion  ;  but  recovery  must  have  ensued,  and  the 
unshaken  energy  of  the  ])eople  and  their  leaders  must  have 
been  directed  to  tlie  undertaking  of  works,  in  which  they 
could  exhibit  also  tlieir  taste  for  pomp  and  architectural 
achievements.  The  gaps,  tlicrefore,  instead  of  casting  a 
shadow  upon  the  authority  and  completeness  of  the  manu- 
script, may  rather  be  thought  to  perform  the  silent  office  of 
tin-owing  light  iiit(^  the  obscure  past  of  the  Maya  history. 
As  to  the  methotl,  liovvever,  wliich  we   em[)loyed  in  comput- 


93 

ing  the  omitted  periods  of  Ahaues,  we  have  only  to  say  that  it 
grew  out  from  the  nature  of  the  Maya  enumeration  itself. 
The  two  ends  of  the  interrupted  series  being  given,  the 
number  of  the  intervening  Ahaues  could  be  easily  supplied. 

What  now  remains  is,  to  discover  for  tlie  restored  and  com- 
pleted series  of  Ahaues  the  corresponding  chronological 
expressions  in  our  era.  We  find  the  total  Ahau  periods 
mentioned  in  the  annals  were  50.  We  have  thought  it  nec- 
essary to  complete  twenty  more  periods,  so  that  we  have 
seventy  periods  (20X70),  or  1400  years.  As  soon 
therefore  as  we  know  in  which  year  of  our  era  the  last 
or  13th  Ahau  mentioned  in  the  manuscript  fell,  we  can, 
by  reckoning  backward,  find  the  years  date  of  the  first 
Ahau  mentioned,  to  wit :  the  8th  Ahau,  and  also  deter- 
mine the  dates  and  events  of  each  of  all  the  other  intervenin^ 
Ahaues.  The  manuscript  fortunately  affords  us  the  neces- 
sary material  for  determining  with  incontestable  certainty  the 
years  date  of  the  last  13th  Ahau.  It  is  the  following  :  we 
read  in  the  12th  section  that  Chief  Ajpula  died  in  a  year 
when  there  were  still  six  years  wanting  before  the  expira- 
tion of  the  13th  Ahau,  and  that  the  year  of  his  decease  was 
1536  A.  D. 

According  to  this  statement  the  13th  Ahau  ended  with 
the  year  1542.  Bishop  Landa  (see  §41  of  his  Relacion  de 
las  Cosas  de  Yucatan)  confirms  the  correctness  of  the  above 
calculation,  though  he  says  that  the  13th  Ahau  expired  with 
the  year  1541.  Landa  undoubtedly  selects  this  date  of 
June  10th,  1541,  as  tliat  of  the  last  decisive  victory  at  T'ho 
over  the  Indians,  while  the  author  of  the  manuscript  may 
have  had  in  mind  the  date  when  Merida  was  officially  incor- 
porated as  the  capital,  and  a  dependency  of  the  Spanish 
crown,  which  was  January  6,  1542.*  If  we  subtract  the 
total  number  of  Ahaues  already  obtained,  and  amounting  to 
1400  years,  from  the  year  1542,  we  obtain  for  the  first  epoch 


*  Eligio  Ancona,  Histoiia  de  Yucatan,  Merida,  1879,  Vol.  I.,  page  333. 
13 


94 

named  in  tlie  manuscript  which  is  the  8th  Ahan,  or  tlie 
starting  of  the  conqerors  from  Tulapan,  the  years  142 — 162 
of  our  modern  Christian  era. 

Of  all  the  dates  calculated  from  the  manuscript  only  that 
of  1542  is  well  established  from  a  historical  point  of  view, 
as  that  when  Merida  was  declared  the  future  ca})ital  of  the 
conquered  country.  It  is  represented  by  the  last  year  of 
the  13th  Ahan,  A  second  date  and  event,  that  of  the  final 
destruction  of  Mayapan,  is  mentioned  by  CogoUudo,  who 
places  it  about  the  year  1420  A.  D.,  which  would  give  (see 
table,  page  96)  a  12th  or  a  10th  Ahau  period.  But  the 
manuscript  in  §11  gives  Vaxac  Ahaii,  or  ihe^ih.  Ahau,  which 
according  to  our  computation  represents  the  years  between 
1442  and  1462.  Landa  agrees  with  this  statement  (Relacion 
de  las  Cosas  de  Yucatan,  §IX.,  page  52).  ''^  It  is  now  120 
year's  since  Mayapan  lüas  destroyed.''''  Landa  wrote  in  the 
year  1566,  therefore,  in  his  conception  Maj^apan  was  destroyed 
in  1446,  which  j^ear  falls  correctly  in  the  8th  Ahau. 

Landa's  account  agrees  also  with  another  event  mentioned 
in  the  manuscript,  the  wanderings  of  the  Itzaes  40  years  in 
the  wilderness  before  they  settled  down  at  Uxmal  and  Maya- 
pan,  in  the  6th  and  4th  Ahau,  which  is  in  our  calculation 
from  942 — 982  A.  D.  Landa,  however,  does  not  fix  the 
year  (Relacion  de  las  Cosas  de  Yucatan,  §YIIL,  page  46). 
In  §YIII.,  page  49,  he  likewise  speaks  of  a  king  of  the 
tribes  of  Cocomes,  hostile  to  the  Itzaes,  who  kept  a  Mexi- 
can garrison  in  Mayapan.  This  is  an  allusion  to  the  seven 
Mayapanes  mentioned  in  the  manuscript  (in  §8),  all  of  whom 
liave  Mexican  (Nahuatl)  names.  There  also  the  year  is 
not  given.  Llowever,  his  confirmation  of  so  early  events  in 
Maya  history  appears  to  be  of  high  value. 

It  is  fortunate  that  the  manuscript  just  in  the  middle  of 
its  narration  exhibits  a  long  succession  of  Ahau  periods 
without  any  ga[)S  at  all.  We  can  count  through  sections  5, 
6,  7,  8,  9  and  10,  thirty-one  AJuiu,  periods  or  620  years 
ol    uninterru[)t(Ml  liistory.     They  represent,  according  to  uur 


95 

calculation,  the  cpoclis  from  tho  years  682 — 1302  A.  D.,  or 
from  the  takiii<^  of  Champotoii  to  tlic  first  destruction  of 
Mayapan  by  the  assistance  of  tlie  foreign  Uitzes.  This  com- 
pact period  of  time  touches  a  very  remote  c[»och  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  civilized  nations  of  Central  America.  It  reaches 
backwards  to  an  epoch  when  in  Europe,  Pepin  D'Heristal 
and  his  family  laid  the  foundation  to  their  future  ascendancy 
on  the  throne  of  France.  If  we  look  still  further  backward 
in  our  table,  we  notice  another  long  period  of  time  (sections 
3  and  4)  which  represents  the  sum  of  eight  uninterrupted 
Ahaues,  equal  to  160  years.  The  connection  of  these  two 
great  periods  was  re-established  by  the  interpolation  of  the 
three  Ahaues,  8,  10  and  12  in  section  5,  a  correction  for 
which  there  should  be  not  the  least  question.  Groping  our 
way,  we  should  reach  the  epochs  when  Bacalar  was  founded, 
with  a  date  as  early  as  between  462  and  482  A.  D.  At 
this  point  we  are  no  longer  able  to  follow  the  conquerors  on 
their  route.  The  location  of  Bacalar  is  well  known  to  us, 
but  that  of  Chacnouitan  and  Tulapan  has  escaped  our  inves- 
tigation. Notwithstanding,  by  the  aid  of  the  quoted  Ahaues 
we  are  able  to  fix  the  time  for  the  lone  rest  and  residence  in 
Chacnouitan,  and  for  their  remote  starting  from  Tulapan. 
It  comprises  the  epochs  backwards  from  the  year  462  to  that 
of  162,  and  since  the  text  reports  that  eighty  years  were 
spent  in  the  migration,  we  are  entitled  to  fix  the  time  for 
the  arrival  in  the  peninsula  with  the  year  242  A.  D.  It  is 
of  significance  for  our  purpose,  that  this  settling  on  the 
peninsula  can  be  computed  with  the  year  242  A.  D.  It  repre- 
sents, as  will  be  seen,  the  13th  Ahau,a  date  always  assumed  by 
the  Maya  chronologists  as  one  with  which  they  designate  the 
commencement  of  a  new  cycle. 


96 


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97 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  result  obtained  by  onr  compu- 
tation is  almost  identical  with  that  of  Senor  Perez.  In  his 
conception  the  manuscript  comprises  tlie  epoch  from  144 — 
1536  A.  D.  ;  in  ours,  that  from  142 — 1542.  A  coincidence 
like  this  may  be  thought  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  al- 
though we  differed  in  our  methods  of  interpretation  and 
reckoning,  the  agreement  of  the  results  appears  so  much  the 
more  satisfactory.  We  should  be  pleased  to  view  the 
subject  in  so  favorable  a  light,  but  fear  wc  cannot.  For, 
whilst,  on  the  one  hand,  we  are  far  from  claiming  any  infal- 
libility for  our  modus  procedendi^  on  the  other  hand,  we 
cannot  help  protesting  against  Senor  Perez's  methods  of 
obtaining  his  results.  Besides  giving  to  the  Ahau  the  not 
admissible  duration  of  24  years,  he  further  makes  an 
evident  mistake  in  the  summing  up  of  the  Ahaues  quoted  in 
the  manuscript,  by  counting  58  of  them  instead  of  50.  He 
does  not  seem  aware  that  the  Maya  author  mentions  various 
of  these  Ahaues  twice,  and  even  thrice,  a  fact  which  we 
took  care  to  point  out  in  the  course  of  our  discussion.  It 
is  only  by  increasing  the  length  of  the  Ahau  to  24  years, 
and  also  by  counting  8  A-haues  more  than  there  actually 
were,  that  Senor  Perez  is  able  to  arrive  at  the  date  of  144 
A.  D.  for  the  exodus  from  Tulapan.  If  we  should  indeed  in- 
cline to  make  allowance  for  his  choice  of  the  24-year  period, 
because  as  it  seems  to  us  he  was  misled  by  his  authorities,  he 
notwithstanding  must  be  held  accountable  for  the  mistake 
made  in  counting  in  those  eight  ill-starred  Ahaues.  His 
computation  therefore  being  defective  in  itself,  the  favorable 
impression  gained  from  the  fact  that  two  interpreters  arrived 
at  an  almost  identical  result,  will  disappear.  Such  an  agree- 
ment would  have  been  very  valuable  if  either  of  the  two 
interpreters  could  show  that  his  method  stands  the  test  of  in- 
controvertible proof.  Therefore,  it  is  only  by  chance  that 
Sefior  Perez's  mistakes  in  reckoning  make  up  very  nearly 
the  same  number  of  years  that  we  have  obtained  ;  first,  by 
means  of  the  interpolation  of  20  more  Ahaues  ;  and  second, 
by  allowing  only  20  years  for  each  Ahau  period. 


98 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  proper  to  make  some  statements 
as  to  the  position  which  this  manuscript  holds  in  aboriginal 
literature,  and  also  as  to  its  value  and  use  as  a  chronological 
document.  In  the  first  place  we  are  fuUj  convinced  of 
its  genuineness.  We  have  not  been  able  to  examine  the 
document  itself  as  to  the  material  upon  which  it  was  written, 
nor  as  to  the  characters  of  the  text,  nor  as  to  external  ap- 
pearance, and  we  are  not  informed  into  whose  hands  it  fell 
after  it  left  those  of  its  author  before  it  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  Sefior  Perez.  But  we  believe  that  Seiior  Perez 
had  good  reasons  for  regarding  it  as  a  document  prepared 
in  the  last  half  of  the  16th  century,  at  a  time  near  to  that 
when  Yucatan  was  conquered  by  the  Spaniards.  The  lan- 
guage and  construction  belong  to  that  epoch,  as  we  are  told. 
But  even  if  it  should  not  be  an  original,  but  a  second  or 
third  copy,  this  would  not  be  enough  to  shake  our  faith  in 
the  authenticity  and  importance  of  its  contents.  For  set- 
ting aside  the  fact  that  its  matter  has  a  specific  national 
character,  and  presupposes  a  knowledge  on  the  part  of  its 
author  which  only  a  native  could  have  obtained,  the  style  of 
its  composition  indicates  its  national  bearing. 

Let  us  fancy  ourselves  in  the  position  of  the  Maya  writer 
while  at  work.  Before  him,  on  the  table,  stands  the  wheel 
for  counting  the  Ahaues,  and  as  he  bends  over  the  sheets 
containing  the  painted  annals,  his  eye  turns  alternately  from 
the  paper  to  the  wheel,  making  a  careful  comparison.  Then 
he  pauses  and  considers  in  his  mind  what  expressions  he  must 
use,  and  afterwards  begins  to  write.  From  time  to  time 
he  cannot  forbear,  however,  casting  an  occasional  glance  at 
the  letters  of  the  Spanish  alphabet,  in  order  to  shape  them 
correctly,  for  he  is  still  a  beginner  in  this  new  art.  Now, 
perhaps  he  wavers  for  a  moment,  and  then  begins  anew. 
The  recollection  of  some  ancient  Maya  song  steals  in  upon 
his  mind,  and  by  the  aid  of  a  few  significant  sentences  he 
incorporates  the  substance  with  his  text.  To  interpolations 
of  this  kind  we   may  attribute   such   phrases  as   "  the  disre- 


99 

spectful  utterances  of  Chacxibclmc  against  Hunac-eel."  Of 
the  ancient  Maya  ballads,  it  is  to  be  regretted,  none  are 
known  to  exist.  Yet  there  is  no  reason  for  relinquishing  the 
hope  altogether,  that  some  day,  at  least,  a  copy  of  the  painted 
annals,  which  our  Maya  writer  evidently  consulted,  may  be 
discovered,  while  we  can  willingly  dispense  with  the  ballads. 

As  long  as  such  hopes  fail  of  realization,  we  must  be  satis- 
fied with  the  slight,  but  yet  important,  contribution  offered 
us  in  the  manuscript.  We  may  complain  of  its  brevity,  yet 
notwithstanding  it  is  tlie  most  complete  document  we  possess 
of  ancient  American  history.  It  is  all  the  more  important 
for  the  reason  that  it  relates  to  Yucatan,  which  in  our  opin- 
ion, is  the  very  cradle  of  early  American  civilization.  It  is 
also  pleasant  to  observe  that  the  manuscript  is  not  at  vari- 
ance with  what  we  have  learned  from  the  fragmentary 
records  made  by  Landa,  Lizanaand  CogoUudo.  Notwithstand- 
ing its  imperfections,  it  interprets  and  explains  much  that 
had  hitherto  appeared  uncertain  and  deficient.  It  is  of  un- 
doubted authenticity,  and  forms  a  firm  foundation  for  the 
reconstruction  of  the  histor}^  of  the  past,  which  till  now  has 
remained  enigmatical,  and  which  is  faintly  expressed  by  the 
crumbling  ruins  of  the  peninsula. 

The  manuscript,  finally,  affords  a  guarantee  that  the  long 
past  not  only  reached  back  to  the  remotest  epoch  of  our 
era,  but  that  more  than  all,  it  stands  in  a  near,  perhaps  in 
the  most  intimate,  connection  with  the  history  of  the  Na- 
huatl  race.  In  reference  to  the  homogeneous  structure  of  the 
Maya  and  Nahuatl  calendars  we  have  already  expressed  our 
belief  that  these  two  nations  were  closely  related  to  each  other. 
In  the  traditions  of  both  occurs  the  name  of  Tula  or  Tulapan, 
as  a  fatherland  common  to  each  of  them.*     This  supposition 


*With  reference  to  the  Mayas,  consult  the  Quiche  traditions  in  Bras- 
seur  de  Bourbourg's  Popol  Vuh,  pages  215,  217  and  23(5,  and  Brasseurde 
Bourbourg's  Memorial  of  Tecpan  Atitlan,  page  170,  note  3.  For  the 
Nahuatl  race,  Brassenr  de  Bourbourg's  Histoire  des  Nations  civilis^es 
du  Mexique,  Vol.  I.,  Appendix,  page  428,  in  extracts  made  from  the 
Codex  Chimalpopoca. 


100 

appears  to  ns  still  further  justified  by  the  circumstance  that 
the  chronological  annals  of  both  nations  revert  to  the  sanne 
period  of  time  as  a  starting  point.  As  regards  the  Nahuatls, 
we  refer  to  the  circle  of  signs  engraved  on  the  Calendar 
Stone  which  gave  us  the  information  that  the  annalists  of 
Anahuac  in  the  year  1479,  counted  back  twelve  hundred 
and  forty-eight  years  to  the  celebration  of  their  first  festival 
in  honor  of  the  sun  ;  that  is,  they  carried  back  their  political 
or  religious  record  to  the  year  231  A.  D,  The  Maya  manu- 
script corresponds  to  this  date,  as  we  think,  since  the  year 
24:2  A.  D.  resulted  from  our  calculation.  It  was  the  year 
in  which  the   ancient  conquerors,  after  wandering  80  years, 

The  Maya  Ahaues  of  the  MSS.,  brought  into  correspondence 

WITH  the   YE-UtS   OF   THE    CHRISTIAN  ErA  : — 


CS 


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10 
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118 

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262 
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442  3  I 

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502   J 

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542 

562  , 

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101 

arrived  on  the  Island  of  Chacnonitan  where  they  made  a 
permanent  settlement.  This  event  happened  in  the  13th 
Ahaii  (see  table),  which,  as  we  know,  is  the  starting  point  of 
Maja  chronology,  and  likewise  the  first  date  of  that  name 
which  the  mannscri])t  mentions.  The  difference  of  11  years 
which  appears  in  the  Nahnatl  computation  cannot  be  re- 
garded as  of  mnch  importance. 

If,  however,  it  should  seem  desirable  to  examine  chrono- 
logical parallels  we  sliall  refer  our  readers  to  a  second  chap- 
ter on  Central  American  chronology  whjch  is  hereafter  to 
appear,  in  which  we  propose  to  undertake  the  task  of  illns- 
trating  and  explaining  still  further  the  parallelism  of  Maya 
and  Nahnatl  dates.  It  will  then  be  proved  that  in  this 
written  and  still  existing  Nahnatl  clironology,  supported  by 
the  date  231  A.  D.,  found  on  the  Calendar  Stone,  a  still 
earlier  date  designated  as  JTC'ttZZ/can  be  found,  which  repre- 
sents the  year  137  A.  D.  In  this  year,  according  to  the 
annals,  a  great  eclipse  of  the  sun  took  place,  with  the  re- 
markable statement  that  it  occurred  exactly  at  the  end  of  a 
year  at  12  o'clock  noon.  In  our  manuscript  we  find  the 
first  date  preceding  the  settlement  of  Chacnouitan  designated 
with  the  8th  A  hau,  the  date  of  the  setting  out  from  Tula- 
pan,  which  we  have  already  stated  to  be  the  years  142 — 162 
A.  D.  Another  agreement  is  that  the  Nahuatl  records  show 
that  166  years  before  the  occurrence  of  tlie  above  mentioned 
eclipse  of  the  sun  in  the  year  1  Tecpatl,  a  congress  of  astrolo- 
gers to  amend  tlie  calendar  of  the  nation  took  place  at  a 
town  called  Huehuetlapallan,  and  by  reckoning  back  we  find 
that  this  year  corresponds  with  the  year  29  B.  C.  If  we  then 
follow  a  hint  which  Seflor  Perez  has  very  ingeniously  fur- 
nished that  the  manuscript  strangely  begins  with  an  8th 
Ahau  instead  of  a  13th  Ahau,  and  that  the  Maya  chronology 
could  be  dated  back  to  such  a  13th  Ahau  as  a  proper  begin- 
uing  connected  with  some  interesting  event,  we  find  by 
reckoning  back  from  the  8th  to  the  13th  Ahau  the  corres- 
ponding date  to  be  the  years  18 — 38  B.  C. 
14 


102 

Now,  the  results  gained  in  this  line  of  investigution,  can 
be  forniuhited  as  follows  : — 

1.  That  the  conquerors  and  settlers  of  tlie  Yucatan  penin- 
sula, as  well  as  those  of  tlie  Anahuac  lakes,  were  joint  par- 
ticipants in  a  correction  of  their  national  calendar  about  the 
year  29  B.  C. 

2.  That  about  the  year  137  A.  D.,  when  a  total  eclipse  of 
the  sun  took  place,  tlie  ancestors  of  both  nations  set  out 
from  their  common  fatherland,  Tula  or  Tulapan. 

3.  That  about  the  year  231  A.  D.,  both  nations  made 
tlieir  appearance  on  the  coast  of  Central  America,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  conquering  a  large  portion  of  the  peninsula. 

It  is  true  that  we  liave  only  documentary  evidence  to  sub- 
stantiate the  theory  just  referred  to.  But,  if  we  do  not  pos- 
sess the  desirable  evidence  of  monumental  inscriptions,  it 
behooves  us  to  examine  and  to  weigh  carefully  that  which 
still  remains.  In  this  connection  we  should  also  remember 
that  the  sculptor,  in  carving  his  records,  was  not  guided 
by  liis  memory  alone,  but  that  he  copied  the  symbols  from 
the  sacred  books  of  his  race ;  and  that  on  the  other  hand, 
our  learned  Maj'a  writer,  when  translating  these  latter  into 
written  phonetic  language,  drew  his  text,  as  did  the  sculptor 
from  similar  sources. 

If  tlierefore  with  the  help  of  written  records  we  can  build 
up  liypotheses  partially  satisfactory,  and  not  altogether  im- 
probable, we  have  accomplished  all  that  could  be  expected 
for  the  present,  at  least,  and  have  perhaps  excited  an  inter- 
est in  a  branch  of  history  which  has  hitherto  been  held  as 
dead  and  unproductive. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  express  the  hope  that  Urn  Maya 
manuscript  may  be  submitted  to  a  rigid  critical  and  linguistic 
examination,  and  that  the  publication  of  the  work  may  be 
appended  to  a  heliotype  copy  of  the  original  in  order  to  ex- 
hibit to  students  a  document  of  so  great  importance,  and  to 
ensure  its  preservation. 


-c/ 


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